BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Loans

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the level of bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The most recent Bank of England data(1) shows that net lending to small and medium-sized businesses continued to fall in 2012, with £9.1 billion of gross lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but £10.5 billion of repayments in Q3 2012. The SME Finance Monitor shows that success rates for loan and overdraft applications is around 66%, and many businesses report they are discouraged from applying for finance. Government has responded with a range of initiatives to help boost SMEs' confidence and unlock external finance, including the appeals process whereby businesses can challenge declines, and putting in place greater transparency. BIS Ministers continue to frequently raise these issues directly with all the major banks.
	However, the Government recognises that there is still more to be done. This is why the Government has announced plans to create a new business bank to help address the long-term problems around the effective and efficient provision of finance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
	(1 )Bank of England: Trends in Lending, published January 2013.

Business: Regulation

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the burden of regulation on micro-businesses; and what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses and micro-enterprises.

Michael Fallon: I discussed the need to reduce the burden of EU regulation with the European Commission on visits to Brussels in October and again in December 2012. I emphasised that the Commission needs to make further concrete proposals to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, especially for small and micro-businesses. I also held a meeting this week with senior Commission officials to discuss these issues.
	We work closely with a strong network of EU counterparts on this issue. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) agreed a “Ten Point Plan for EU Smart Regulation”(1) with Ministers from 12 other EU member states in November, calling for further measures to reduce burdensome EU regulations for small businesses.
	The Government is holding the Commission to account on its existing commitment to reduce regulatory burdens for small businesses and micro-enterprises. We have for example achieved agreement in Brussels to exempt up to 1.4 million of the smallest UK businesses from certain EU accounting rules.
	(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-point-plan-for-eu-smart-regulation

EU External Trade: USA

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what input the UK is having into the EU-US High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth.

Michael Fallon: The EU-US High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth (HLWG) is led by the EU Trade Commissioner and the US Trade Representative (USTR). UK input is predominantly through formal EU-level discussions in the European Council, the Council of Ministers and the Trade Policy Committee, and through bilateral discussions with DG Trade and USTR's office. UK business has also fed into the European Commission's public consultations on EU-US trade relations, the results of which will be used to shape the EU's position ahead of any EU-US negotiations. The Government has been urging the HLWG to make ambitious recommendations to the EU and the USA on liberalising trade between the two economies.

EU External Trade: USA

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to the UK economy of the standardisation of EU and US regulation being discussed by the EU-US High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth.

Michael Fallon: BIS has been looking closely at all the relevant analysis of the benefits of trade liberalisation between the EU and the USA; however, analysis of this particular aspect of trade liberalisation is limited. Studies suggest that liberalisation of non-tariff measures combined with regulatory convergence should provide significant benefits. For example, analysis by the research and consultancy company Ecorys of a 50% elimination of non-tariff measures and regulatory convergence showed potential benefits of 0.7% of GDP for the EU and 0.3% of GDP for the US. The impacts on the UK economy would likely be similar to these EU-level estimates.
	Further UK-specific analysis planned by BIS will take a similar approach, assessing the potential combined impact of liberalisation of non-tariff measures and regulatory convergence.

EU Grants and Loans: Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss the effect of repatriation of EU structural funds with the Welsh Government.

Michael Fallon: The Government is committed to help shape the future of an open, flexible and adaptable European Union. We are not setting out specific proposals at this early stage.

Motor Vehicles: Import Duties

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether there was any agreement at the recent Doha trade talks relating to tariffs on the sale of cars.

Michael Fallon: The Doha trade round Negotiating Group on (non-agricultural) Market Access met on 29 November 2012 to elect a new chairman and to hear his thoughts on progressing the negotiations. There was no discussion on the issue of tariffs on the sale of cars.

Natural Environment Research Council

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff are employed by the National Environment Research Council.

David Willetts: As at 31 December 2012, the number of staff employed by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of staff(1) 
			 Swindon office 294 
			 Research Centres:  
			 British Antarctic Survey (BAS) 548 
			 British Geological Survey (BGS) 712 
			 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) 470 
			 National Oceanography Centre (NOC) 490 
			 Other 75 
			 Total 2,589 
			 (1) These figures are headcount rather than FTEs (full-time equivalent).

Offshore Industry

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the Norwegian Local Content Policy linked to its oil and gas policy; and if he will assess the effects of such policies on Norway's employment base.

Michael Fallon: The Government intend to publish, with industry, an oil and gas industry strategy in late March. The relationship with Norway is an important one in the North Sea and the strategy will be informed by work which Norway undertakes to support its supply chain. A May 2012 Harvard Business School report entitled Norway: Oil and Gas Cluster stated that the Norwegian oil and gas supply chain employed 114,000 people. Although the Norwegian Government owns 67% of Statoil, which is the dominant player in the Norwegian sector accounting for 70% of production, protectionist measures were phased out in 1994 when Norway entered into a free trade agreement with the EU.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Jo Swinson: BIS and its agencies do not hold a central contracts database to be able to undertake a complete analysis of all procurement contracts compared to what has been advertised on Contracts Finder. An exercise is under way to create a central database and in the interim we have provided the following information relating to the period August to December 2012.
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
			 Total contracts entered into 72 — 
			 Non-relevant contracts 35 49 
			 Total relevant contracts 37 51 
			 Total relevant contracts advertised on Contracts Finder 37 100 
		
	
	BIS complies with the requirement to publish all relevant contracts in excess of £10,000 on Contracts Finder. Latest figures show 215 relevant contracts (100%) have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since its inception on 1 January 2011.

Regulation

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2012, Official Report, column 988W, on regulation, what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on including European legislation in the quarterly statements on regulation that are published by Government Departments.

Michael Fallon: The Statement of New Regulation, published twice a year, provides a list of all regulatory measures with an impact on business that are scheduled to be introduced over the following six months. It also provides a commentary on the actions the Government is taking in relation to European and domestic regulation.
	To increase transparency, from December 2012 the Statement has been expanded to include all measures that implement European legislation with an impact on business. This is helping business to prepare to the regulatory changes arising from European legislation.
	The latest Statement includes 57 EU measures that are due to come into force between January and June 2013. It is available in the Library of the House and on the Government website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fifth-statement-of-new-regulation-sonr

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by his Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Jo Swinson: The Department has answered all ordinary written questions (due for answer by 21 January 2013). There have been no questions that took more than 30 days to answer.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

CABINET OFFICE

Booktrust

David Davis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what discussions (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials of his Department had with the Department for Education in 2012 on funding for Booktrust;
	(2)  which Ministers of his Department oversaw or contributed to his Department's decision on Government funding for Booktrust between 2013 and 2015.

Nick Hurd: The decision to award grant funding to Booktrust for 2013-15 was taken by the my the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), on the basis of advice from Department for Education officials.

Employment

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of people (a) in Woking constituency and (b) nationally were employed in the (i) private, (ii) public and (iii) third sector in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, what proportion of people (a) in Woking constituency and (b) nationally were employed in the (i) private, (ii) public and (iii) third sector in each of the last five years. (138749)
	Employment statistics for local areas are calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates of people employed in the third sector are currently not available from APS. Individuals employed in voluntary organisations, charities and trusts are included in private sector estimates.
	Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. In the APS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on National Accounts definition and are not available for areas smaller than regions.
	The tables show the number and percentage of people aged 16 to 64 years, who were employed in the public or private sector along with those who were unemployed or inactive, resident in Woking parliamentary constituency and the UK. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period October 2011 to September 2012, the latest period available, and the 12 month periods ending in December from 2008 to 2011. It should also be noted that the estimates also include people who were employed but have not provided enough information to be accurately included in either the public or private sectors.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Percentage of people aged 16 to 64 years employed in the public, private sectors(1) 
			 Percentage 
			  Woking UK 
			  Employed  Employed  
			  Public Private Unknown(2) Unemployed or inactive Public Private Unknown(2) Unemployed or inactive 
			 12 months ending:         
			 December 2008 20.3 58.1 0.0 21.6 17.4 54.2 0.5 27.9 
			 December 2009 18.4 59.0 0.0 22.6 17.7 52.6 0.4 29.3 
			 December 2010 16.9 58.2 0.0 24.8 17.7 52.1 0.5 29.7 
			 December 2011 18.7 58.5 0.0 22.8 17.0 52.6 0.5 29.9 
			 September 2012 16.7 61.7 0.0 21.6 16.7 53.1 0.6 29.6 
			 (1) Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. (2 )People who were employed but have not provided enough information to be accurately included in either the public or private sectors. Source: Annual Population Survey.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's report, Public Bodies 2012 published in December 2012, what timetable he has established for the next stage of any quango reform.

Nick Hurd: The Government is now more than half way through its programme to reform public bodies, having reduced the total number by more than 220. By 2015 we will have reduced the number of public bodies by approximately 300. Departments report that they are on track to reduce the administrative cost of public bodies by at least £2.6 billion by 2015.
	The Government has also introduced a programme of triennial reviews which will continue to challenge whether the functions of each non-departmental public body need exist, or need to continue at arm's length from Government, and will also examine their corporate governance. The bodies that are subject to review in the current financial year were confirmed in the recently published report Public Bodies 2012.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which local authorities were using Contracts Finder on the latest date for which information is available.

Chloe Smith: Over 300 local authorities have registered on Contracts Finder. This is five times as many as when my hon. Friend asked the same question in September 2011.
	A complete list of all buyers who are registered can be found here:
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/public_files/Reports/NotSet/List_of_buying_organisations.csv

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Art Works

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has leased out any works of art held by the Department but not currently on display.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 17 January 2013
	Art works are overseen and owned by the Government Art Collection.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 776W, on the steps the Collection is taking to increase public access and generate an income stream from licensing.

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Brandon Lewis: Air miles are not accrued under the Department's contract with Redfern, which provides travel services to the Department. All departmental travel should be booked through this contract.
	All ministerial travel is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code. In respect of staff travel, the Department's terms and conditions of employment state that
	“benefits accrued as a result of official travel (for instance ‘Air Miles’) must not be used for personal travel but (staff) are encouraged to use them to offset the cost of future official journeys”.

Community Development: Environment Protection

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make an assessment of how (a) the Localism Act 2011 and (b) other Government enabling legislation passed in this Parliament has contributed to (i) community-supported agriculture, (ii) community renewable energy projects and (iii) other community-based projects which contribute to carbon reduction, since 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: Aside from the general facilitation of community activities, there are no specific provisions in the Localism Act 2011 on (i) community-supported agriculture, (ii) community renewable energy projects and (iii) other community-based projects which contribute to carbon reduction. The Department, therefore, has no plans to assess the contribution made to these objectives.
	The nature of locally driven initiatives mean that there are a number of individual case studies which can act as inspiration to other communities. One of these local initiatives is Capital Growth which reached its target of 2,012 new community food growing spaces for London by the end of 2012, covering an estimated 124 acres of previously disused land. The project is an excellent example of people coming together to improve their communities and quality of life through growing food. While legislation can make these initiatives possible it is the hard work and personal commitment of the people involved which deserves recognition.
	In October 2012 my Department launched the Community Shares Unit to enable growth and the use of community investment to develop community-based projects. There has been an increased use of the community share model to set up and run community renewable energy projects and community supported agriculture. One example is the Bath West Community Energy, who raise funding to bring alternative source of energy to their community. Bath West Community Energy has raised £722,000 through a community share offer. This in turn has helped them secure £1 million loan finance to fund 12 of their projects. This enabled the installation of solar, photovoltaic, hydro and wind technologies in local schools and homes. The Community Shares Unit will promote and support greater use of this model to develop and run a variety of community-led projects.
	Funding from £10 million Local Energy Assessment Fund helped provide some information for neighbourhood plans. Loan funding from the forthcoming Rural Communities Renewable Energy Fund could also help strengthen communities' capacity to take advantage of local opportunities.

Fireworks

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review his Department's guidelines on fireworks and their display to assess levels of compliance with the existing arrangements and to identify if any streamlining of enforcement procedures is necessary.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Guidance on the safe use of fireworks and fireworks displays is available on this Department's website and also that of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). BIS currently has no plans to review its guidance.
	There are no regulations which make provision for fireworks displays per se and there is no licensing requirement purely for public firework displays. There may be requirements by local authorities for firework displays to be regulated under licensing regulations for public entertainment, for example where alcohol or music is also present. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have policy responsibility for public entertainment licensing requirements.
	Most public firework displays will involve a work activity and therefore be subject to the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act which is enforced by HSE or the relevant local authority.
	The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2010 prohibit the supply of display fireworks to anyone other than a 'person with specialist knowledge'. This requirement is enforced by local authorities trading standards and we do not intend to review it at this time.

Housing: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) new houses and (b) affordable houses were built in Copeland constituency in 2012.

Mark Prisk: Data on house building by local authority district can be found in live table 253 at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
	Statistics on affordable housing supply by local authority district are available in tables 1008 and 1011, at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	Data are collected only at local authority district level and are not available by parliamentary constituency.

Local Government Finance

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what value of local government settlement per dwelling is given by his Department to each local authority in England.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 14 January 2013
	A table showing provisional spending power per dwelling for all local authorities in England in 2013-14 has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Local Government Finance: Birmingham

Local Government Finance

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the taxation policies of Birmingham city council.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has made no such assessment, but collects data about council tax levels and business rates from local authorities and publishes them on the Government website.
	Local taxation policies are a matter for individual local authorities. However, the Government hopes that authorities will seek to protect hard-pressed local tax payers. For example, the Government hopes that authorities will accept the £450 million of funding to help local government in England freeze council tax in 2013-14 (comprising £225 million in both financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15).
	For those authorities that choose not to freeze in 2013-14, the Government has proposed council tax referendum principles. In the case of Birmingham city council the principle is 2%. If an authority raises its relevant basic amount of council tax by more than the level of the principles, it will be subject to a binding local referendum.
	Having taken account of any representations, the principles will be put to the House of Commons for approval at the time of the final local government finance settlement in February.

Local Government: Business

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department provides to local authorities to encourage them to strengthen their relationship with representatives of local small and medium-sized businesses.

Mark Prisk: The information is as follows:
	Procurement
	We have encouraged local authorities to recognise that small and medium enterprises are capable of delivering significant value for money and councils should take particular care to ensure they are not excluded from the procurement process.
	The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency seeks to encourage councils to open up their procurement functions by publishing details of their contracts and tenders to businesses and to the community and social enterprise sector. This will enable a wider range of potential suppliers, particularly small and medium enterprises, to identify and tender for local authority projects.
	The Cabinet Office has also produced procurement policy guidance for public authorities—including councils—on the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. My Department's best value guidance to local authorities also recommends that councils consult small businesses when carrying out their functions.
	Small shops
	The Government's response to the Portas Review also included a programme of work and a series of recommendations to local authorities on supporting local shops, many of which are small and medium enterprises.
	Business rates
	The Localism Act 2011 has made it easier for small firms to claim small business rate relief, and we have encouraged local billing authorities to ensure that eligible firms are claiming such rate relief.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's top three policy implementation (a) successes and (b) failures have been since May 2010.

Hugh Robertson: The policy implementation priorities of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport can be found in the Department's Structural Reform Plan, progress against which is reported on the Government's business plan website:
	http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan
	A broader look at implementation progress can be found in the Government's Mid-Term Review document:
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
	published on 7 January 2013 and the Programme for Government Update:
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/programme-for-government-update/
	published on 9 January 2013.

Human Rights: Religion

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total legal costs to the Government have been of opposing the appeals at the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Eweida and others to date.

Helen Grant: holding answer 21 January 2013
	These cases were brought against the UK Government and it was only right that the Government defended them. It would have been wrong to settle the cases out of court, at great expense to the taxpayer, when we had a strong prospect of success.
	The costs of work carried out by the Government's own legal services cannot be broken down in respect of individual legal cases in the way requested. However, the cost of instructing external legal advisers to defend litigation against the United Kingdom in respect of the four Christian applications to the European Court of Human Rights is approximately £37,000.

National Lottery

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on Camelot's intention to reduce the percentage of money that it pays for good causes from 28 per cent to 27 per cent; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Subject to propriety and player protection, the Government's policy is to maximise the amount that the national lottery raises for good causes. The percentage of sales income that each national lottery game returns to good causes have never been set by Government in legislation, but has historically been at around 28% averaged across all national lottery products. The precise percentage breakdown of how much is returned to good causes varies depending on the game, the channel it is being sold through, the level of sales and the period of the licence that has been reached. For some games, increasing the amount available for prizes helps to maximise sales and increase the actual amount of money available to good causes, even if this represents a slight decrease in the amount taken from each pound.

National Lottery

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether she was consulted over changes to the Lotto announced by Camelot; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with Camelot regarding the changes to the Lotto announced by Camelot; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions she has had about the possible reduction in Lotto ticket sales as a result of doubling the cost of purchasing six numbers; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: It is the responsibility of the National Lottery Commission the independent regulator to approve any new game or changes to existing games before they go on sale. The NLC need to be satisfied that any game in the national lottery portfolio is being run fairly, that players are protected and subject to those considerations that the game will raise as much money as possible for good causes. These decisions are rightly taken at arm's length from Government and I have not had any discussions with Camelot about their proposals, although I was kept informed of developments by my officials.

National Lottery

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she will take if the changes to the Lotto announced by Camelot result in less money being available for distribution to good causes; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The National Lottery Commission (the Commission) will have been satisfied that Camelot's proposed changes to the existing lotto game will be likely to generate additional money for good causes. The Commission would expect Camelot to have rigorous arrangements for tracking the performance of games (including the new lotto) and would require Camelot to take corrective action where a game underperforms so that returns to good causes are maximised.

Senior Civil Servants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in her Department have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.

Hugh Robertson: The following table shows the total number of officials of the three most senior grades in her Department who have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.
	
		
			  Number 
			 Number of resignation 1 
			 Number of voluntary early retirement 6 
			 Been dismissed 0 
			 Left the Department for alternative employment 8 
			 Taken long term sick leave 0 
			 Taken administrative leave 0

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by her Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by her Department (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session.

Hugh Robertson: The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

DEFENCE

Ammunition: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what munitions dumping sites were used in Scotland prior to the signing of the OPSAR Convention; and what amount of each type of munitions was dumped at those sites.

Mark Francois: Ministry of Defence (MOD) information on munitions disposed of at sea in the British Isles, including the waters off Scotland, has been placed in the public domain; it can be accessed at the following internet address:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121203135425/http:/www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/HealthandSafetyPublications/DSEA/DisposalOfMunitionsAtSea.htm

Ammunition: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the environmental effects of historic dumping of munitions in (a) Scotland's exclusive economic zone and (b) the UK continental shelf that is in Scottish waters.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has two studies covering the scope of this question.
	The first report was undertaken by the then Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department, titled “Surveys of the Beaufort Dyke Explosives Disposal Site”, and published in November 1996. This was a comprehensive report of the UK's main munitions dumping site located off Scotland. The MOD's former Defence Evaluation Research Agency (DERA) undertook the chemical analysis of seabed sediments and of fish samples as part of the study.
	The report concluded:
	“The results of the explosive and propellant residue and heavy metal analyses indicate that munitions dumping operations after both World Wars have not resulted in chemical contamination of the surface seabed sediments or the edible flesh of commercially exploited fish and shellfish species”.
	The report can be found at the following link:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/uploads/documents/frsr1596.pdf
	A second study was commissioned in 2005 by the MOD. Imperial College London were commissioned to undertake an independent study entitled: “Munitions Dumped at Sea: A Literature Review”; a copy of the report can be found at the following link.
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121203135425/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/77CEDBCA-813A-4A6C-8E59-16B9E260E27A/0/ic_munitions_seabed_rep.pdf
	The purpose of this study was to provide a
	“review of the relevant published studies and other relevant information on the current scientific opinion on munitions (both conventional and chemical) that have been disposed of by dumping on the sea bed”.
	The MOD continues to monitor international work to help inform our policy in this area; this includes the Helsinki Commission's work in the relatively shallow Baltic Sea.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  under what criteria serving personnel may be discharged from the armed forces on the grounds of retrospective medical discharge;
	(2)  what (a) external advice his Department has sought and (b) meetings his Department has held with other Government Departments on the criteria for retrospective medical discharge from the armed forces.

Mark Francois: Retrospective medical discharge is not a recognised term in the Ministry of Defence. Any discharge upon medical grounds is exactly that. However, on entering military service, where stringent medical observations are made during training, it is sometimes revealed that there is a pre-existing medical condition which may not be known to the individual. These conditions may be treatable but some may be chronic.
	In the case of a recruit undergoing training who is found to be unfit for service due to a medical condition which existed prior to enlistment and has so materially worsened that it renders that person unfit to continue training, the individual will be discharged from the service on medical grounds.
	All cases referred for discharge are taken upon their merits. There may be periods of back-classing, rehabilitation and leave to enable treatment or recovery from such a condition. However, for example, in the naval service there is an absolute upper limit of 12 months from recruitment as a window where this method of termination of employment on health grounds can be used.
	The criteria applied are the same as those that would be applied at a pre-entry medical to determine fitness for entry into the services. In developing the acceptance and rejection criteria for specific medical conditions at entry to the services advice is taken from external civilian consultant advisors, defence consultant advisers and service/civilian consultants with a specialist interest in the condition or practice covering that condition.

Armed Forces: Housing Benefit

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces are claiming housing benefit.

Mark Francois: holding answer 18 January 2013
	This information is not held.
	The claiming of benefits is a private matter on which the Ministry of Defence has no requirement to collect information. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), as the Department responsible for housing benefit, has no datasets available which would allow analysis of the specific occupation of housing benefit claimants. Where it is the case that policy with respect to a benefit potentially affects members of the armed forces, regular or reserve, the Department will discuss this with DWP as necessary.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason army personnel were not permitted to voluntarily reduce their end of engagement date to align with their immediate pension point as was permitted by other services' redundancy schemes.

Mark Francois: holding answer 23 January 2013
	There is no connection between the arrangements under which some members of the armed forces can bring forward their end of engagement date to align with their immediate pension point (IPP), and the tri-service redundancy scheme.
	Control of an individual's commission and engagement length is part of single service Terms of Service (ToS) and is one mechanism used to control manpower numbers to deliver the required structure to deliver operational capability. By necessity, these ToS vary from service to service making direct comparison impractical.
	Since the 1970s, under RAF ToS, Air Force officers promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader and above, and therefore offered service to the age of 55, are allowed to declare in advance that they will retire at their Immediate Pension Point (IPP) on compulsory pension terms. No one has been permitted to exercise this option after being selected for redundancy.
	The naval service and Army ToS do not offer this commitment to their personnel.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2013, Official Report, column 36W, on armed forces: sexual offences, if he will propose to the Secretary of State for the Home Department an amendment to Home Office circular 028/2008 to require that all reports of (a) sexual assault, (b) rape and assault by penetration made by serving armed forces personnel to civilian police forces are recorded; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: All reports made by serving armed forces personnel to the civilian police about criminal activity, including sexual assault, rape and assault by penetration are recorded as a matter of police procedure. There is therefore no need to amend the Home Office circular.

Chief of Defence Materiel

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on his Department's accounts for 2011-12, what the reasons are for the time taken to gain approval from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for the remuneration package of the Chief Defence Materiel.

Mark Francois: In July 2010, approval for the salary and bonus package of the Chief of Defence Materiel (CDM) was obtained. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) has not questioned that. However, the C&AG has viewed the payments made by the Department for CDM's accommodation while working away from his permanent place of work as being "remuneration" and therefore outside the scope of the package approved by HM Treasury.
	The Department is working on how the situation can be regularised.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to update assumptions on the future cost of fuel for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence will next revisit its assessment of the future cost of fuel for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft in the first quarter of financial year 2013-14.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 891W, on future strategic tanker aircraft, whether the FSTA consortium holds a monopoly on air-to-air refuelling for the duration of the contract; and whether a fee would be payable to the consortium should a variation or alternative method of air-to-air refuelling be made outside the consortium.

Philip Dunne: Under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft contract which expires in 2035, Air Tanker Ltd will provide an air-to-air refuelling service sufficient to meet planned RAF requirements. The RAF is also able to utilise air-to-air refuelling provided by other nations, by commercial providers or another Ministry of Defence owned aircraft, but may be required to make payments to Air Tanker if it does. Liability for payment would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent reports he has received on the safety of the F-35 fuel tank.

Philip Dunne: As part of its ongoing procurement programme and the Development Test programme, the UK receives constant updates on the safety of the F-35 fuel tank design. With personnel embedded within the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme, this is part of the daily work.
	All aircraft variants of F-35 are currently within the Development Test phase of the overall programme. The aim of the Development Test phase is to reveal issues through testing so that solutions can be developed in order to deliver a capable aircraft to the armed forces.
	The JSF programme is currently carrying out tests on the effects of lightning on the F-35 fuel tank to ensure the aircraft is appropriately equipped to fly in all weathers.

Mali

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will permit the use of C17 aircraft to transport humanitarian supplies to Mali when not required for military purposes.

Andrew Robathan: C17 aircraft are currently being used to transport equipment for the French-led operation in Mali and will not be required to deliver humanitarian aid or equipment.
	I am advised that the UN and other aid agencies have satisfactory assets in-country to cover current humanitarian assistance needs. The UK has not been requested to provide direct in-kind asset support. Currently the UN and a few selected agencies are carrying out needs assessment in affected areas to determine the level and type of assistance required.

Mali

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to provide military assistance in Mali through the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles in that country.

Andrew Robathan: There are currently no plans for the UK to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles to Mali.

Persian Gulf

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Naval submarines are currently deployed in the Arabian Gulf; and for what purpose each such submarine is deployed.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 23 January 2012
	Submarines are deployed periodically to the region in support of Operation KIPION. I am withholding any further information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Procurement

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many research contracts commissioned by his Department were not subject to a tendering process in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence's commercial policy is to operate a tendering process for contracts, including those commissioning research. Information on any exceptions to tendering is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Philip Dunne: Contracts Finder was launched in January 2011. Since then the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has issued 2,089 contracting opportunities over £10,000. Of these, 1468 (70%) have been included on Contracts Finder. Of the balance of 621 contracting opportunities that were not published on Contracts Finder, 460 (or 22% of the total number of contracting opportunities issued) were exempt from publication because they are categorised as warlike stores and 161 (or 8%) were exempt from publication because of security issues.

Russia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions Royal Air Force aircraft have been launched to monitor Russian aircraft approaching UK airspace in each of the last three years; and where each such flight was (a) directed and (b) scrambled from.

Andrew Robathan: Royal Air Force quick reaction alert (QRA) aircraft are based at RAF Leuchars and RAF Coningsby. The number of days on which QRA aircraft have launched in response to Russian military aviation that approached or entered the NATO air policing area for which the UK has responsibility in the each of the last three years is contained in the following table. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace at all times. Not every launch resulted in an interception as some incidents were resolved prior to interception.
	
		
			  Number of days QRA launched in response to Russian military aviation 
			 2010 11 
			 2011 10 
			 2012 8 
		
	
	I am withholding where each such flight was directed and scrambled from as deterrence is a principal function of QRA and QRA is in turn an integral part of the air defence of the UK. The disclosure of information that might compromise the QRA deterrent capability would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Shipping

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to reinstate the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's (RFA) role in strategic sealift; and if he will make it his policy to reinstate that role for the RFA.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence's strategic sealift is subject to a contractual agreement with a shipping provider. There are no plans to change this arrangement at this time.

World War I: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to encourage greater archive accessibility at military museums in the lead-up to the centenary of the First World War;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to encourage co-operation between national and local military museums in the lead-up to the centenary of the First World War.

Andrew Murrison: The information requested will take time to collate. I will write to my hon. Friend in due course.
	Substantive answer from Dr Murrison to Andrew Rosindell:
	I undertook to write to you in response to your parliamentary question on 20 December 2012 (Official Report, column 909W) regarding cooperation between national and local military museums, and the accessibility of archives in the lead-up to the centenary of the First World War. Naturally I take a particular interest in this issue as the Prime Minister's WW1 Centenary representative.
	Co-operation between Museums
	The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) works closely with the other National military museums on a wide range of issues. On WW1, the NMRN are working with the Hampshire network of museums and has regional partnerships in the north east, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, all of which have a WW1 dimension. There has been a great deal of support for the NMRN's new 20th century galleries and for saving HMS Caroline, the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland.
	The National Army Museum (NAM) is developing a comprehensive programme of activity to commemorate the First World War centenary, working in partnership with museums across the country. In April 2012 NAM appointed its first Regimental Liaison Officer to provide dedicated support and greater collaboration between the NAM, the country's 136 Regimental Museums, the Ministry of Defence and the Army Museums Ogilby Trust (AMOT). This role will oversee a programme of guest exhibitions in 2014 focusing on First World War recruitment, showcased at six regimental museums spread across the country.
	In addition to this the NAM will be increasing its outgoing loans programme by 20% in conjunction with the anniversary offering local and regimental museums the opportunity to contextualise their own collections with items from that of NAM.
	The RAF Museum works with the Imperial War Museum to coordinate exhibits, events and commemorations and assists other museums with advice, images, artefacts and information. It is also contributing to a new web portal owned by the Imperial War Museum, for sharing research, collections and stories.
	The Imperial War Museum itself has been leading on a commemoration of 1914-1918 project with many Regimental Museums and the Army over the past two years.
	Access to Museum Archives
	The Imperial War Museum is encouraging all museums, including regimental, to digitise their archives to allow accessibility through the Europeana web portal. The aim is to create a cultural heritage that is accessible to all and with a lasting legacy beyond the Centenary.
	The archives of NMRN are open at all of its sites every weekday. Of material held by NMRN at Portsmouth, 75 per cent is available on-line. Subject to funding, NMRN plan to consolidate the bulk of their archives in a single location over the next three years.
	NAM are to undertake a programme of digitisation, making available tens of thousands of service records and archives relating to the disbanded British and Irish regiments, a large percentage of which cover the period of the First World War. The Museum is also seeking to put the Soldiers effects records from WW1 onto the web, allowing families to trace next of kin details of soldiers who were killed during the war. These digitisation projects will complement the thousands of records already available on the NAM website.
	The Royal Air Force Museum has extensive archive collections, available in the reading room at its Hendon site. As part of its plans to mark the centenary of the First World War the Museum is digitising WW1 casualty records relating to personnel of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force and the register of personnel who transferred to the newly-formed RAF in April 1918.
	I hope you find this useful.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to answer PQ 133155, tabled on 6 December 2012 for answer on 10 December 2012.

Mark Francois: holding answer 22 January 2013
	I answered the hon. Member today.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made on agreeing the levels of fines for non-registration on the voting register; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: It is not currently an offence not to be registered to vote, and this will not change under individual electoral registration. There will continue to be a criminal offence for non-disclosure of information requested by an electoral registration officer (for example non-return of the annual canvass form); this carries a maximum penalty of £1,000. The Electoral Registration and Administration Bill introduces a civil penalty that may be imposed on a person who fails to make an application to register when required to do so.
	The Government has stated its intention that the penalty be akin to the level of a parking fine. The details of the process and level of the civil penalty will be finalised shortly.

Electoral Register

Jamie Reed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect of plans to introduce Individual Electoral Registration on the level of electoral registration in rural communities.

Chloe Smith: No assessment has been undertaken on the specific effect in rural communities, but the Government has carried out a detailed programme of research to inform the decision making on the implementation of individual electoral registration.
	We have funded the Electoral Commission to publish an updated study on the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register to understand the scale of the challenge; we have funded an independent academic to carry out a literature review of all available research into electoral registration; and we have commissioned a qualitative study which explored the barriers to registration for those groups missing from the register under the current system, and those most at risk during the transition to IER.

EDUCATION

16-19 Bursary Fund

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2012, Official Report, column 419W, on 16-19 Bursary Fund, on what date he plans to make publicly available local level data on Bursary Fund payments and education maintenance allowance transitional arrangements for 2011-12.

Matthew Hancock: I have asked the Education Funding Agency for the information the hon. Member has requested, and I will write to him when I receive it. I will also arrange for the letter and the data to be placed in the House Libraries. The data will include the value of EMA transitional payments made to students in each local authority and the value of bursary allocations made to providers in each local authority in 2011/12 to help them meet the needs of students. The actual value of bursary payments made by providers to students is not collected.

Children: Day Care

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consultations his Department has conducted amongst childcare providers on the potential deregulation of the childcare system.

Elizabeth Truss: We will shortly publish plans to raise the quality of childcare and give parents more choice. In developing our plans, Ministers and officials have had a number of discussions with a range of early years and child care organisations and other interested parties to help develop proposals for improving the quality of child care. They have also spoken to Government Ministers, officials and child care sector representatives in other countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands. There was also a call for evidence from the child care commission, which received 328 written responses.

Children: Mental Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what facilities his Department makes available online to help children and young people cope with (a) stress, (b) mental illness and (c) bullying and cyber-bullying.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not itself provide online facilities to help children and young people cope with stress, mental illness, bullying and cyber-bullying.
	There is a range of provision that children and young people, their families and supporting professionals can access when they need support to cope with stress or mental illness. We work closely with charities; in the period 2011 to 2015 we have granted the NSPCC £11.2 million to support Childline and the NSPCC Helpline. We also work with the Department of Health on their Improving Access for Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, which is transforming existing mental health services for children and young people across England.
	Schools can be a key point for support and are well placed to target resources appropriately. It is important that children who are experiencing problems can share them with someone they trust, and school-based counselling with an appropriately trained professional is one of the most prevalent forms of psychological therapy for young people in the UK.
	We have sent a strong message to schools that they should take firm action against all forms of bullying and prevent it from occurring in the first place. We believe that schools are best placed to support victims of bullying, and our advice provides them with effective strategies they can adopt to tackle and prevent bullying.
	Specialist organisations such as Beatbullying, and Childnet International provide schools and pupils with excellent advice and support on cyber-bullying. We have also strengthened teachers' powers to search pupils, including a specific power to tackle cyber-bullying, whereby inappropriate images on electronic devices, including mobile phones, can be deleted.

Children: Social Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children who have been removed by social services have been (a) returned to their parents with additional support, (b) placed permanently in the care of another family member and (c) placed for adoption in the last 10 years.

Edward Timpson: Information on the number of children who have been taken into care in the last 10 years and the proportion who have since ceased to be looked after due to:
	(a) returning home to live with parents, relatives or other person with parental responsibility (this excludes cases where a residence order or special guardianship order has been granted). Information on numbers where additional support is provided is not available;
	(b) the granting of a residence order,
	(c) the granting of a special guardianship order, and
	(d) the child being adopted
	is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of children taken into care, with the proportion of these children who have ceased care due to returning to parents, granting of a residence order or special guardianship order and who have been adopted plus the proportion who are still placed for adoption at 31 March 2012(1,2) 
			 Years ending 31 March 2003 to 2012 
			 Coverage: England 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010(4) 2011(4) 2012(4) 
			 Number of children taken into care 7,970 7,560 7,750 7,710 7,720 7,440 8,180 9,580 9,560 10,100 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage of whom ceased care and returned to parents or other person with parental responsibility(3) 34 35 33 31 30 30 31 30 26 17 
			 Percentage of whom ceased care due to a residence order being granted(3) 1 2 5 7 7 7 7 6 6 1 
			 Percentage of whom ceased care due to a special guardianship order being granted(3) 2 2 3 6 8 8 8 8 7 1 
			 Percentage of whom were adopted(3) 22 23 21 21 21 20 17 10 3 (7)— 
			 Percentage still placed for adoption at 31 March 2012(5) 0 (6)— (6)— (7)— (7)— 1 2 5 5 (7)— 
			 (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Children who were taken into care are children who started to be looked after under a care order, police protection, an emergency protection order or under a child assessment order. (3) A child may cease to be looked after several years after being taken into care, the figures show the year the child was taken into care rather than the year they ceased to be looked after. (4) Due to the time period involved in adoptions the proportion of children taken into care in 2012 or 2011 who have been placed or adopted will be low. (5) The percentage of children taken into care in year whose period of care continues and are placed for adoption at 31 March 2012. (6) Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. (7) Negligible. Percentage below 0.5% Note: This table shows the reasons why a child ceased to be looked after by the year in which they were taken into care; a child who was taken into care may have ceased to be looked after in any future year. Source: SSDA 903

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's top three policy implementation (a) successes and (b) failures have been since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The policy implementation priorities of the Department for Education can be found in the Department's Structural Reform Plan, progress against which is reported on the Government's business plan website:
	http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan
	A broader look at implementation progress can be found in the Government's Mid-Term Review document:
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
	published on 7 January 2013 and the Programme for Government Update:
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/programme-for-government-update/
	published on 9 January 2013.

Departmental Responsibilities

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when each of his ministerial team meetings have taken place since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: During the parliamentary term, the Ministers and the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), meet twice a week. These meetings are cancelled on rare occasions due to diary commitments, but this is uncommon. To confirm the exact dates of meetings would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Responsibilities

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions he has met (a) civil servants and (b) other Ministers in his Department since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 22 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) meets with the whole ministerial team twice a week and with officials in his Department frequently. To gather the exact number of times the Secretary of State has met Ministers and officials would incur disproportionate costs.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his personal involvement is in authorising releases of responses to requests to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), or another DFE Minister is consulted in appropriate cases as a qualified person under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Ministers are not otherwise routinely involved in authorising releases of responses to FOI requests.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on legal advice relating to compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each month since September 2011.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 14 May 2012
	The Department has, between September 2011 and May 2012, spent £20,228.56 on external legal advice and litigation services relating to two FOIA Decision Notices issued by the Information Commissioner's Office in 2011 or earlier, and a further £1,575 on general FOIA advice from counsel. These break down as follows:
	
		
			  Departmental spend (£) 
			 November 2011 104.70 
			 March 2012 20,123.86 
			 Total 20,228.56 
		
	
	The costs of internal legal advice on FOIA matters are not held in such a way that they can be separately identified.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in each mainstream secondary school who did not have statements of special educational needs achieved (a) five A* to C GCSE grades including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents, (b) five A* to C GCSE and equivalent grades including English and mathematics, (c) no GCSEs at A* to C grade excluding equivalents, (d) no GCSE and equivalent grades at A* to C, (e) A* to C grades in English GCSE, (f) A* to C in mathematics GCSE and (g) A* to C in both English and mathematics GCSE in the latest year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 10 January 2013
	The table providing school level information for pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs for the GCSE attainment indicators requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in each ethnic group and each school in the UK who did not have statements of special educational needs and who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals did not achieve an A* to C grade in (i) English GCSE, (ii) mathematics GCSE and (iii) English and mathematics GSCE in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 10 January 2013
	The tables provided give national figures by ethnic group. The Department for Education only holds this information for schools in England.
	Pupils' attainment by free school meal eligibility is not available at school level. Providing attainment figures at school level for ethnic groupings other than white would require significant suppression and this information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 National performance of pupils(1 )with no statements of special educational needs(2) and eligible for free school meals not attaining A* to C in English and/or mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4 
			 Year: 2010/11 (final data) 
			 Coverage: England (state-funded mainstream schools only)(3) 
			  Total number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 without a statement of SEN and eligible for free school meals Pupils who have not achieved GCSE English at A*-C Pupils who have not achieved GCSE maths at A'-C Pupils who have not achieved both GCSE English and maths at A*-C 
			 Ethnic group Number Number Percentage(4) Number Percentage(4) Number Percentage(4) 
			 White 49,258 26,932 54.7 29,482 59.9 33,190 67.4 
			 Mixed 3,520 1,480 42.0 1,776 50.5 2,020 57.4 
			 Asian 9,956 3,699 37.2 3,905 39.2 4,784 48.1 
			 Black 7,471 3,025 40.5 3,308 44.3 3,986 53.4 
			 Chinese 156 35 22.4 17 10.9 38 24.4 
			 Other 2,078 853 41.0 792 38.1 1,034 49.8 
			 Unclassified 864 441 51.0 476 55.1 533 61.7 
			 (1) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (2) Pupils with no statement of SEN include: School Action, School Action+, no identified SEN and unclassified pupils. (3) State-funded mainstream schools include the following mainstream school types: LA maintained schools, CTCs, academies and free schools. (4) Percentage is calculated as a percentage of the total number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 without a statement of SEN and eligible for free school meals. Source: 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables data (post-errata) 
		
	
	
		
			 National performance of pupils(1) with no statements of special educational needs(2) and not eligible for free school meals not attaining A* to C in English and/or mathematics at the end of Key Stags 4 
			 Year: 2010/11 (final data) 
			 Coverage: England (state-funded mainstream schools only)(3) 
			  Total number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 without a statement of SEN not eligible for free school meals(4) Pupils who have not achieved GCSE English at A-C Pupils who have not achieved GCSE maths at A*-C Pupils who have not achieved both GCSE English and maths at A*-C 
			 Ethnic group Number Number Percentage(5) Number Percentage(5) Number Percentage(5) 
			 White 397,092 100,569 25.3 118,475 29.8 142,902 36.0 
			 Mixed 14,564 3,323 22.8 4,247 29.2 5,048 34.7 
			 Asian 32,164 7,957 24.7 7,886 24.5 10,484 32.6 
			 Black 17,135 4,500 26.3 5,563 32.5 6,672 38.9 
			 Chinese 2,110 380 18.0 125 5.9 418 19.8 
			 Other 4,590 1,635 35.6 1,444 31.5 1,939 42.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Unclassified 4,652 1,229 26.4 1,454 31.3 1,739 37.4 
			 (1) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (2) Pupils with no statement of SEN include: School Action, School Action+, no identified SEN and unclassified pupils. (3) State-funded mainstream schools include the following mainstream school types: LA maintained schools, CTCs, academies and free schools. (4) Those not eligible for free school meals (FSM) includes those pupils with status unclassified. FSM eligibility is taken as that given in the spring school census. (5) Percentage is calculated as a percentage of the total number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 without a statement of SEN and not eligible for free school meals. Source: 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables data (post-errata)

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) groups and (b) hon. Members he and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare has met to discuss personal, social, health and economic education in the last three months.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 21 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not met any groups or hon. Members to discuss Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education in the last three months.
	In the last three months I have met the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson), and the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) to discuss issues related to PSHE. I have also met representatives of the Brain Tumour Charity and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Pupils: Leave

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy is on study leave in the lead up to end of year examinations at 16.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 23 January 2013
	The Department for Education has no policy on study leave in the lead up to end of year examinations at 16. This is a matter for schools to consider.

Pupils: Leave

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to schools with respect to providing study leave for students taking end of year examinations at 16.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 23 January 2013
	The Department for Education gives no guidance to schools with respect to providing study leave for students taking end of year examinations at 16. This is a matter for schools.

Pupils: Leave

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of study leave in the weeks leading up to end of year examinations at 16 on students’ examination performance.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 23 January 2013
	This Government has made no assessment of the effects of study leave in the weeks leading up to end of year examinations at 16 on students' examination performance. This is a matter for schools.

Schools: Sports

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to provide support for long-term sports funding in schools in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Dudley.

Edward Timpson: All schools in England, including those in the west midlands and Dudley, are funded to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum for their pupils, and PE is part of that. We are exploring a range of measures with other Government Departments to improve school sport and we will make an announcement shortly.

Special Educational Needs

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how his Department plans to improve outcomes for children with special educational needs in (a) Hendon, (b) London and (c) England.

Edward Timpson: The Government is committed to improving the way in which children and young people who have special educational needs (SEN) or who are disabled are identified, assessed, and supported. Our proposed legislative reforms will improve the system for 0 to 25-year-olds by giving parents and young people more control and focusing on the outcomes that they want. Local authorities will provide clear information about local services for all children and young people with additional needs. Education, health and care services will jointly commission services to meet the needs of children and young people. We will introduce a new integrated assessment and plan, the Educational Health and Care Plan, which will replace Learning Difficulty Assessments and Statements of SEN—retaining all the protections provided by Statements—but will better reflect the child's or young person's plans for the future as well as their current needs and there will be a stronger focus on preparing for adulthood.
	We are testing these new approaches to improve choice and control and improved outcomes for families and young people in twenty pathfinders involving 31 local areas. In London, this involves Bromley with Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham, putting families and young people at the centre. Last year, I announced an 18-month extension of the pathfinder programme, to September 2014. Learning from the pathfinders has informed development of the Children and Families Bill and will continue to feed into development of regulations and guidance.

Special Educational Needs

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce a national framework for local offers in the forthcoming Children and Families Bill; and what accountability measures he plans to introduce to evaluate any local offers.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 22 January 2013
	The Government published draft legislative provisions for special educational needs in September 2012, including proposals for local authorities in England to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs, including those who are disabled. The local offer would set out what families can expect from local services across education, health and social care and the eligibility criteria for accessing those services where appropriate.
	Local authorities would be required to involve local children, young people and families in developing their local offer to ensure that their needs and aspirations are taken into account. Detailed requirements for the local offer will be set out in regulations. These requirements will be informed by the learning and effective practice developed by the pathfinders.
	Local authorities would be required to keep their local offer under review. This would enable the local authority to ensure their local offer continued to meet the needs of local children and young people with special educational needs and their parents.
	Each service would be accountable for delivering what is set out in the local offer and if families are unhappy with what they receive or what is available they would be able to take this up with those services. The local offer would give details of how to complain about provision and about rights of appeal.
	If a local authority did not meet its statutory obligations in respect of the local offer a complaint could be made to the Local Government Ombudsman and if necessary to the Secretary of State for Education.
	The Education Select Committee published the report of its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft special educational needs provisions on 18 December 2012. The Government will give careful consideration to the Committee's report and publish its response in due course. It will also take the Committee's report into consideration when framing legislation on children and families for introduction to Parliament.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Individual Voter Registration: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the likely effects of individual voter registration in Scotland on the capacity of electoral registration officers.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission recognises that the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER) presents challenges for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across Great Britain. EROs in Scotland must also prepare for the planned independence referendum in 2014.
	The Commission will publish guidance for EROs in Scotland on how best to manage these challenges, and will revise its performance standards to monitor EROs' preparedness for IER during this period.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Electricity

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the assumption in the analysis supporting the Electricity Market Reform consultation proposals that a reduction in earnings at risk will lead to an equal increase in the level of debt that can be raised, whether his Department is still working under this assumption.

John Hayes: The analysis presented alongside the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) consultation document in December 2010 was conducted by Redpoint Energy(1). The methodology used to assess the impact of EMR on project financing, and in particular the relationship between ‘earnings at risk’ and project gearing, was set out in “Electricity Market Reform: analysis of policy options—report by Redpoint Energy(2)”.
	For the analysis in the most recently published EMR Impact Assessment (January 2013(3)), hurdle rates are based on data from Oxera(4) (2011) and Arup(5) (2011).
	Hurdle rate reductions used in this latest EMR modelling are derived from DECCs Dynamic Dispatch Model (DDM), in conjunction with Oxera's maximum possible hurdle rate reductions. This process is described in detail in footnote 34 of the latest EMR Impact Assessment (January 2013). The updated methodology makes no assumption regarding the relationship between earnings at risk and project gearing, or debt, levels.
	(1)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/up1oads/attachment_data/file/42636/1041-electricity-market-reform-condoc.pdf
	(2)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42638/1043-emr-analysis-policy-options.pdf
	(3)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42843/3237-cons-ro-banding-arup-report.pdf
	(4)
	http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/Renewables%20Review/Oxera%20low%20carbon%20discount%20rates%20180411.pdf
	(5)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42843/3237-cons-ro-banding-arup-report.pdf

Energy: Meters

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how he plans to ensure that savings made by suppliers from the smart metering roll-out programme are passed on to consumers.

John Hayes: The Government will be requiring energy suppliers to give us the information we need to be able to track and report on the progress of the roll-out, including the costs of the programme and the efficiency savings that are being realised. Given the competitive pressures in the retail market and the action Government and Ofgem are taking to promote competition, we expect suppliers to pass through both the costs and efficiency savings from smart metering to customers.
	Projections of impacts on the annual energy bill for an average dual fuel household suggest an annual saving of £40 by 2030 (this includes direct consumer energy savings). By robustly tracking both costs and benefits the Government expects to be able to review those projections as the programme advances. We will intervene where necessary to ensure the programme is delivered successfully and in line with consumers' interests.

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in each parliamentary constituency living in fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: Estimates of fuel poverty in each parliamentary constituency in 2010 are published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fuel-poverty-2010-sub-regional-data
	Estimates for 2011 will be published on 16 May 2013.

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department expects to publish its annual report on Fuel Poverty Statistics 2013.

Gregory Barker: The next annual statistics published on fuel poverty will be published on 16 May 2013 and will cover data for 2011. Like all the Department's National Statistics, release dates are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/about/statistics

Levy Control Framework

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which policy instruments will be eligible to draw on the budget managed under the Levy Control Framework to 2020; and what their projected share of the Levy Control Framework budget will be in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2020-21.

Gregory Barker: The existing Levy Control Framework covers the renewables obligation, small scale feed-in tariffs and warm home discount.
	The provisional Levy Control Framework for low carbon electricity policies that was agreed in late 2012 for the period 2015-16 to 2020-21 includes the renewables obligation, small scale feed-in tariffs and contracts for difference. It could also include any electricity demand reduction initiatives.
	The warm home discount was not a part of the provisional Levy Control Framework and its future funding will be decided at the spending review.
	The profile of the Levy Control Framework is still being agreed, after which we will be able to determine the projected shares of the three policies (renewables obligation, small scale feed-in tariffs and contracts for difference).

Petroleum Act 1998

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 917W, on the Petroleum Act 1998, for what reasons the information requested is commercially sensitive.

John Hayes: Naming organisations whose S29 Notices are under review could lead to conjecture (possibly erroneous) about the financial capacity of those involved. This could have a detrimental impact on an organisation's ability to conduct business activities, enter into contractual arrangements and secure financing.

Renewable Energy

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has made an assessment of the ability of independent renewable generators to secure a reasonable value for their output in the event that the Government were to remove the requirement on suppliers to secure increasing proportions of the power they supply from renewable sources.

John Hayes: We recognise the important contribution that independent renewable generators make and will continue to make to investment in renewable generation, and their importance to diversity and innovation in electricity supply.
	The Government's proposals to introduce Feed-In-Tariffs with Contract for Difference (CfDs) removes key risks and offers a number of improvements over the current system of support for renewables investment. Most notably it effectively removes price risk from generators, which is likely to simplify the contracts that many independent renewables enter into in order to sell their power, as these contracts (Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs) would not need to manage these price risks. This should also result in greater competition in the PPA market.
	Reflecting the importance of independent generators, the Government undertook a review of the market for PPAs during 2012, and announced in November that we will work with market participants to smooth the transition to the CfD arrangements, will include powers in the Energy Bill that would give the Secretary of State the power to intervene if the market does not adequately support independent generators, and that we will continue to explore regulatory options to ensure that the Government can act if necessary.

Wind Power

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many responses were received to the Onshore Wind Call for Evidence run by his Department which closed on 15 November 2012;
	(2)  when he expects to publish his response to the Onshore Wind Call for Evidence which closed on 15 November 2012.

John Hayes: The onshore wind call for evidence was issued in two parts. Part A sought information on community engagement and benefits with a view to examining how communities can have more of a say over, and receive greater economic and wider social benefits from, hosting onshore wind farms. Part B requested latest information on onshore wind costs. This will update the evidence received through the Renewables Obligation Banding Review, to confirm that onshore wind tariffs from April 2014 are correct.
	DECC received 1,111 responses to Part A from individuals and a range of organisations, including community groups, local authorities and parish councils, environmental non-governmental organisations, academic institutes and the onshore wind industry. 21 separate responses were received to Part B from the onshore wind industry and other organisations.
	We are currently analysing all of the replies and intend to publish an interim Government response to Part A in the spring and a final report on both Part A and Part B in the summer.

Wind Power

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of (a) the EU wind-power target for the UK by 2020 and (b) whether that target can be met through applications for turbines which are already approved.

John Hayes: The 2009 renewable energy directive sets a target for the UK to achieve 15% of its energy consumption for heat, electricity and transport from renewable sources by 2020. Achieving this target will reduce reliance on overseas fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy security, and bring jobs and economic growth.
	The Renewable Energy Roadmap sets out the amount of onshore wind we anticipate needing to meet the 2020 target. This is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/68637/7382-uk-renewable-energy-roadmap-update.pdf

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Farming: New Entrants

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage new entrants into farming.

David Heath: The Government recognises that a sustainable and productive agri-food sector, capable of grasping the future challenges of achieving food security, will need a skilled and entrepreneurial work force.
	With this in mind, DEFRA has begun working jointly with industry on a 'Future of Farming' review. Together we will be investigating the issues people face when beginning a career in agriculture and how they can be supported in the early years of their career.

Processed Food

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to review the content of beefburgers and other processed food; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The Food Standards Agency is continuing its investigation into horse and pig DNA in beef products and is urgently working with the food industry. It has set out some specific actions it is taking forward with other Government Departments, local authorities and the food industry.
	We are reviewing the compositional regulations covering beef burgers and other foods in light of the changing regulatory regime on food labelling. These will be consulted on in due course.

Broadband: Rural Areas

David Rutley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to improve broadband provision in rural areas.

Owen Paterson: It is our absolute priority to achieve our target of providing 90% of premises with superfast broadband by 2015 to boost the rural economy. I raised the roll-out of the £530 million rural broadband programme in Cabinet last week and the Prime Minister chaired a meeting on it this week.
	Remaining premises will have a minimum standard broadband of two megabits-a-second. Our £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund helps extend superfast broadband in the remotest locations.

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Richard Benyon: Any air miles accrued by core DEFRA in respect of Ministers' and officials' travel are used by the Department towards the cost of official travel.

Carbon

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information he has on the level of carbon consumption in the UK in (a) 1990, (b) 2005 and (c) 2010.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA publishes data for the UK national carbon footprint. The carbon footprint refers to emissions associated with UK residents' spending on goods and services wherever in the world these emissions arise along the supply chain, and those directly generated by UK households through private motoring etc.
	The emissions described are often referred to as “consumption emissions” to distinguish them from estimates relating to the emissions produced within a country's territory or economic sphere.
	The most recent statistics were published on 13 December 2012 and cover 1993 to 2010. They show that the UK's carbon dioxide footprint reached a peak in 2004 at 852 metric tonnes (mt) CO2 and since then has fallen 15% to 722 mt CO2, with a notably large dip occurring in 2009.
	The UK carbon footprint figures were 661 mt CO2 in 1993, 838 mt CO2 in 2005, and 722 mt CO2 in 2010. We do not have reliable estimates for 1990. The figures quoted are available on DEFRA's website.

Cats: Conservation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of his Department's contribution to saving (a) snow leopards and (b) tigers in the wild.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has made no recent assessment of its contribution towards the conservation of snow leopards or tigers in the wild. However, we are committed to the conservation of the world's wildlife, including Asian big cats, and are active participants leading work through fora such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Global Tiger Initiative and Global Tiger Forum to secure their long-term survival.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.

Fisheries: Morecambe Bay

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on bringing forward a Morecambe Bay Hybrid Fishery Order; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: We are currently drafting the Morecambe Hybrid Order. We expect the North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority to consult on this in the coming months.

Floods: Insurance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  pursuant to the contribution by his predecessor of 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 30 on flooding, when he intends to publish plans for the future of flood insurance;
	(2)  what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with colleagues in the (i) Cabinet Office and (ii) HM Treasury to discuss the future of flood insurance in the last 12 months;
	(3)  on how many occasions (a) he or (b) Ministers in his Department have met the Association of British Insurers in the last 12 months.

Richard Benyon: Constructive discussions continue between Government and the Association of British Insurers and others about the future of flood insurance. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I have also met regularly with Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and other Ministers over the last 12 months to discuss this subject. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of such meetings.
	We need a solution that ensures affordable insurance bills for those at flood risk but does not place unsustainable costs on wider policyholders and the taxpayer. A range of options are on the table and no final decisions have been taken.
	I will endeavour to provide a further public update at the earliest appropriate opportunity.

Metals

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the resource risks to businesses from the security of supply of metals used in clean energy and military technologies.

Richard Benyon: The Government published its assessment of the nature of resource risks to UK businesses in the March 2012 Resource Security Action Plan.
	The Government has not sought to provide a list of materials critical to the UK economy. Criticality of a particular material will depend on a range of factors and will change over time; therefore we encourage individual businesses and sectors to assess their own risks.
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a research programme on the resilience of military equipment to materials security. This includes a recent scoping study aimed at demonstrating a methodology for identifying how resource security might be assessed to understand the potential effects on military capability, together with a case study on clean energy technologies for military applications.
	The Government is committed to providing business with better information to enable them to make judgments on risks, and the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network is currently developing a ‘Resources Dashboard’ for this purpose. The MOD has also published guidance on the Acquisition Operating Framework internet site on managing the risk of materials security.

National Wildlife Crime Unit

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 679W, on National Wildlife Crime Unit, what meetings he or Ministers in his Department have had with (a) ministerial colleagues in the Home Department, (b) the Scottish Government and (c) the Welsh Government on the National Wildlife Crime Unit in the last 12 months.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA Ministers have not held meetings on the National Wildlife Crime Unit with ministerial counterparts in the Scottish Government or the Welsh Government. Ministers have had discussions, in the normal course of business, with Home Office Ministers.

Nature Conservation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the UK's contribution to stopping the trade in endangered species.

Richard Benyon: The Government do not aim to prohibit all trade in endangered species. Rather, we are keen to ensure that where trade in endangered species is carried out, it is done so sustainably. We do this through membership of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Under CITES, the UK works with 176 other countries to monitor and restrict international trade in endangered species to ensure their long-term survival. Where trade in a particular species is unsustainable, or there is evidence that endangered species are being taken from the wild illegally, we shall not hesitate to support appropriate international action. An example of this is the current ban on trade in ivory.

Neonicotinoids

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to protect agriculture, bees and wildlife from the effects of neonicotinoids; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Pesticides, including neonicotinoid insecticides, are tightly regulated in the UK in accordance with EU pesticides legislation and a code of practice is in place on how and when they are used to minimise the impact on bees. All pesticide users must comply with all the conditions of a product's authorisation, which will include limitations on the use to a specific situation(s)/crop(s) along with application rates and timings.
	The Government has taken research on effects on bees seriously and has not assumed that the existing controls are sufficient. We have carried out our own research into the impact of neonicotinoids on bees and are waiting for the results of work including a field study on bumble bees. This research will be reviewed by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides and their advice on the evidence will be considered by the Government. If it is concluded that restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids are necessary, they will be brought in.
	UK experts are also participating in work in Europe to develop the risk assessment process for bees and to update the evaluations of neonicotinoids.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that EU member states which are not compliant with the Welfare of Laying Hens directive are referred to the European Court of Justice;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of laying hens across the EU in conditions not compliant with the EU Welfare of Laying Hens directive;
	(3)  which EU member states were not compliant with the EU Welfare of Laying Hens directive on 1 January 2013.

David Heath: The details of which member states remain non-compliant with the conventional cage ban and the number of hens still being kept in conventional cages across the EU have not been formally released by the European Commission. However, I can say that only two member states remained non-compliant at the end of 2012.
	The European Commission is responsible for ensuring compliance with EU law and they are taking action against those member states which are not delivering on their animal welfare obligations.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I met with Commissioner Borg on 17 January and raised our concerns about this issue with him.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many procurement officers are currently employed by his Department;
	(2)  how many civil servants in his Department regularly deal with procurement services;
	(3)  how many procurement officers in his Department have relevant procurement qualifications.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA currently employs 38 civil servants who are procurement officers. These staff provide professional sourcing and contract support to their customers across core DEFRA and three of its arm’s length bodies, namely the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the Marine Management Organisation. They also manage major ICT contracts across a wider area of the DEFRA network:
	There is no central record of how many staff regularly deal with procurement services.
	Core DEFRA have seven procurement officers who are qualified to CIPS level 4, and 11 procurement officers who are qualified to MCIPS level 6. A training programme is in place in the central procurement function to bring the remaining procurement officers up to a minimum of CIPS level 4. Rigorous systems are also in place to ensure an effective service which continues to meet the CIPS Gold standard.

Redundancy Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in his Department was in each month from July to December 2012.

Richard Benyon: The total amounts paid to staff leaving core DEFRA on voluntary exit schemes, in each month from July to December 2012, are set out in the following table. There were no compulsory redundancies in this period.
	
		
			  Amount paid (£) 
			 July 373,811 
			 August 19,766 
			 September 314,987 
			 October 372,519 
			 November 226,686 
			 December 110,449

Schmallenberg Virus

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Schmallenberg virus on the livestock industry.

David Heath: Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is not a notifiable disease and, as such, reporting of cases is voluntary. During the UK's 2012 lambing season the impact on infected farms of proportion of lambs affected was approximately 2% to 5%. A European Food Safety Authority report based on information from all affected member states and published in November 2012 indicates the maximum proportion of SBV confirmed sheep flocks per region is 6.6%. Economic assessments for infection in UK flocks in 2011, in counties from the midlands south, estimate that losses at twice this level would cost the industry approximately £1 million per annum. This is less than the economic impact of other common industry diseases such as foot rot.
	The new season of lambing has just started and may continue until early May depending on flock type so there are many ewes still to produce lambs. There are anecdotal reports of up to 40% of lambs affected in around 30 flocks. This has mostly been in the western fringes of where it is known that SBV infection occurred in 2011; these are areas at greatest risk of infection from early spread in 2012. Many early lambing flocks have synchronised mating periods, which means that the ewes are all within a few days of the same stage of pregnancy and so a large proportion of the flock is vulnerable if SBV arrives on farm at the critical time in pregnancy when infection results in malformed offspring. AHVLA is supporting the National Sheep Association in collecting data on the effect of SBV in this lambing period.

Schmallenberg Virus

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to address the spread of the Schmallenberg virus at a (a) UK and (b) EU level.

David Heath: Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a new virus first found in Germany and the Netherlands in late 2011 and in the UK in January 2012. It is not notifiable in Europe and so reporting by farmers and vets is voluntary. Surveillance testing and reporting across the EU has found that SBV has spread rapidly and is now present in many member states. Our own surveillance reporting over the summer and autumn 2012 has found SBV in all rural counties in England.
	SBV is a vector borne disease and has been found in midges. Effective midge control is very difficult, and livestock movement controls would provide ineffective control of disease spread. A number of companies are currently developing a vaccine against SBV which would require authorisation by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) if efficacy and safety can be proven prior to it being available on the market. It will be a decision for farmers to make, supported by their vet and considering their management practices if use of a vaccine will benefit their livestock. Immunity, natural or vaccination, will protect against infection the following year.
	DEFRA officials have been collaborating closely with European colleagues to understand how the virus works and spreads. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regularly collates and publishes data on SBV in the EU on behalf of the Commission and DEFRA is playing an active role in providing knowledge and expertise into this process.

Trees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has commissioned into pests and diseases that affect Sitka Spruce.

David Heath: The Forestry Commission leads on research into pests and diseases that may affect Sitka spruce, on behalf of DEFRA.
	Sitka spruce is the most prevalent and commercially valuable species in British forests. The Forestry Commission has carried out research on a number of insect pests since the 1930s. These include the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum), the European spruce sawfly (Gilpinia hercyniae) and the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis). A management support system for the pine weevil has been developed through research, which is now being used to avoid significant financial losses in young trees.
	In the 1980s an outbreak of the great spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus micans) posed a major threat to Britain's spruce forests. Research discovered a natural predator beetle which is now routinely used as part of normal forest management to control this beetle when new outbreaks are found.
	There have been relatively few diseases affecting Sitka spruce but research has been undertaken into a number of important pathogens, such as conifer butt rot (Heterobasidium annosum), honey fungus (Armillaria mellea), group dying of conifers (Rhizina undulata) and more recently the susceptibility of the species to Phytophthora ramorum and Dothistroma needle blight.
	Native and non-native pests of other tree species have occasionally switched hosts, or have the potential to switch hosts, and cause damage to Sitka spruce (e.g. winter moth (Operophtera brumata) and pine-tree lappet moth (Dendrolimus pini). There are a number of other potential pests and diseases in Europe and North America that could cause serious damage to Sitka spruce if they were introduced into the UK, such as spruce budworm (Chorsitoneura spp.), the eight toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) and Sitka spruce weevil (Pissodes strobii). Research continues to be carried out by the Forestry Commission on pests and diseases present in the UK and our scientists maintain contacts with their counterparts abroad to keep abreast of other possible threats.

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to make a decision on the Yorkshire Dales National Park extension.

Richard Benyon: Natural England's proposed extensions to both the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks will shortly be the subject of a public inquiry. In total over 3,000 objections, representations and expressions of support were received to Natural England's proposals, including objections by several local authorities with land in the proposed areas. It is a statutory requirement to hold a public inquiry if at least one local authority raises an objection to its respective Variation Order.
	Once the necessary practical arrangements are finalised, I will issue a written ministerial statement to announce the inquiry. The inquiry manager will then contact all those who made comments on the Variation Orders, inviting them to attend a pre-inquiry meeting.
	Following the inquiry the inspector will make recommendations to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as to whether he believes the proposed additions meet the designation criteria as set out in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Secretary of State will then need to take a quasi-judicial decision as to whether the case for designation has been made and he will then either confirm (with or without modifications) or reject the Variation Orders.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahrain

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the progress of reforms in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our ambassador in Bahrain and his team are in regular contact with the Bahraini Minister for Justice, who leads the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) Follow Up Unit. The unit published a report at the end of last year which detailed progress made since the BICI recommendations in November 2011. Progress has been made in certain areas, but there is still more work to be done and we call on the authorities to show a renewed sense of energy in taking this work forward. I welcome the Bahraini Government's announcement to resume political discussions. I encourage all sides to play a constructive role in an inclusive process.

Bangladesh

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to support the Government of Bangladesh to pursue those accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Alistair Burt: The British Government supports the principle of war crimes trials and the desire of the Government of Bangladesh to hold to account those who may be guilty of crimes committed during the 1971 war. With EU partners, we continue to make clear our strong opposition to the application of the death penalty in all circumstances.
	We note that the International Crimes Tribunal reached its first judgment in the trial of Abul Kalam Azad on 21 January. Defendants should be given a fair trial, including the right to conduct a proper defence, and trials should be open and transparent. We have called on the Government of Bangladesh, publicly and privately, to ensure that trials meet appropriate international standards.
	Noting the concerns expressed by some human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and legal professionals about the tribunal's proceedings, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi hoped that the tribunal would address the concerns and ensure the continued integrity and independence of the legal process in Bangladesh. Baroness Warsi also raised the issue of the war crimes trials with Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Dr Dipu Moni, in December. Officials both in London and our high commission in Dhaka continue to monitor the trials carefully.

Burma

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the prospects for constitutional reform in Burma; and what support the UK is offering to this process.

Hugo Swire: Our embassy facilitated a visit by the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) in August 2012. The focus of the visit was, inter alia, to examine the functioning of the judicial system and analyse the international and domestic legal norms applicable to the judicial system, including the 2008 constitution.
	The IBAHRI report of December 2012 produced as a result of that visit, “The Rule of Law in Myanmar: Challenges and Prospects”, includes a number of recommendations, including those that relate to addressing provisions of the constitution.
	Our embassy in Rangoon has undertaken to circulate a Burmese language version of the report in Burma, particularly to those Government interlocutors with whom the delegation met, with a view to supporting the IBAHRI’s proposed next steps.
	Ultimately any decision to revise the 2008 constitution is a decision for the people of Burma. We would consider any requests for support in that endeavour.

Burma

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of legislative reform in Burma; and what support the Government is offering to the process of legislative reform.

Hugo Swire: The legislation reform seen over the last 18 months indicates the Burmese Government's willingness to reform in some areas. However, the last 18 months also reveal a gap between this willingness to reform and Burma's institutional capacity to do so.
	In response to a request from Aung San Suu Kyi, the British Government has been supporting capacity-building of the Burmese Parliament. In July 2012, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy carried out a scoping visit. The foundation plans to support the administration of public financial scrutiny by sharing good practice from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.
	In December 2012, a cross-party delegation of three Burmese MPs from the Draft Bills Committee visited London to spend time in the House of Commons and House of Lords and learn about the drafting and debating of British law.
	This work will be built upon in 2013 in conjunction with the Department for International Development and civil society partners, identifying areas which are priorities for the Burmese Parliament and its supporting institutions.

Chile

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Chile; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The UK has an excellent relationship with Chile. Chile shares many of the UK's values and we co-operate well on a range of issues of mutual interest, including science and innovation, education, defence, trade and investment. We have a number of formal political dialogues, including on foreign policy and defence. In November 2012, President Sebastian Piñera of Chile visited the UK—his second visit to the UK during his presidency.
	Cultural and education links are also growing, with the Chilean Culture and Education Ministers visiting the UK in 2012. During his November visit, President Piñera and the Prime Minister announced a year of UK-Chile collaboration on science, innovation and education. The UK is already the top destination for Chilean government-sponsored post-graduate students outside Chile, and the British Council has recently won a contract to deliver English language training to 60,000 Chilean workers.
	Trade relations continue to thrive. Chile is the UK’s third largest trading partner in Latin America, with British exports of goods and services exceeding £1 billion last year. London was privileged to host Chile Day in September 2012. This was a major investment event which saw Chilean Finance Minister Felipe Larraín bring a delegation of over 200 Chilean business people to the UK.
	Defence relations are also strong. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Security Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), visited Chile in December 2012 for the Exponaval trade fair, and a high level Chilean delegation will visit the UK for defence talks in May.
	This month, the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), and I will attend the EU-CELAC summit in Santiago which is being chaired by Chile.

China

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received any reports that the Chinese Government may close its re-education through labour camps; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: I strongly support the abolition of the re-education through labour (RTL) system as part of China's progress towards full ratification and implementation of the terms of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights. We will continue to raise our concerns about RTL with the Chinese authorities, including at the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.
	On 7 January 2013, Chinese online media reported that Meng Jianzhu. Secretary of the Central Politics and Law Commission of the Communist Party of China, had announced in a closed meeting with the National Political and Legal Work Conference that the Government would
	“stop using the re-education through labour (RTL) system within a year, following approval by the National People's Congress of the proposed reforms”.
	Xinhua, the official state news agency, subsequently reported that the Government would “advance reforms” to RTL in 2013.
	While the exact nature of the Chinese Government's plan for RTL is as yet unclear, we are encouraged by the decision to reform the system. The reform of RTL is an important opportunity for the Chinese Government to make real progress in addressing the alleged abuses associated with RTL, and would be a significant step towards an improved rule of law.

Colombia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Columbia; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The UK and Colombia work closely together on a wide range of areas including climate change and energy, economic development and trade, drugs and international crime, human rights, defence and governance.
	Our embassy and the British Council in Bogota work closely with local organisations to promote British cultural and sporting events. Last year the embassy took part in numerous joint activities with the Colombian Olympic and Paralympic Committees to promote the London 2012 Olympic Games.
	UK exports to Colombia increased by 45% in 2011. The UK is the second largest foreign direct investor in Colombia and we are on target to achieve our goal of doubling two-way trade by 2015. We look forward to strengthening our economic ties through the upcoming EU-Andean Free Trade agreement. This represents an important opportunity for UK companies to develop stronger commercial relations with Colombia.
	We are deepening our defence and security co-operation with Colombia. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Security Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), held the Inaugural Strategic Defence Dialogue with his Colombian counterpart on board HMS Dauntless on 12 September 2012. The visit showcased the capabilities of Britain's defence and security industry.

Indonesia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: Our relations with Indonesia are close and growing stronger following the successful state visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudboyono in October 2012. The President's state visit built on the momentum from the Prime Minister's visit to Jakarta and South East Asia in April 2012. The Prime Minister's visit saw the re-launch of the UK-Indonesia Partnership Forum which formalises our joint commitment to increased co-operation across a wide range of areas including: trade and investment, where we have committed to a doubling of trade between our two countries by 2015; education; climate change; global foreign policy and international security.
	A key outcome of our bilateral trade talks held immediately before the state visit was the formation of a ‘2030 Trade and Investment Vision Group’ to report to Ministers on where we want our trade and investment relationship to be in 2030, and the action required to get there. My hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham), the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Indonesia, made his first visit to Indonesia on 7-8 January.
	Our defence relationship is strong: we signed a Defence Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the state visit and the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), visited Jakarta on 15 January.
	Our cultural ties are close: the British Council and Department for Culture, Media and Sport worked closely with their Indonesian counterparts during the lead up to the state visit to sign an MoU on future Creative Industry co-operation.

Iran

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much financial support the UK provided to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime for counter-narcotics projects in Iran in each year from 2000 to 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Government has not provided financial support to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for counter-narcotics projects in Iran since 2007. Information on support provided prior to 2007 is not readily available or held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Given support has not been provided for over five years, a statement is not considered necessary.

Japan

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Japan; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The UK's political, cultural, trade and military relationship with Japan is in excellent health. Last year saw an unprecedented level of engagement between our two countries. There was a successful visit to Japan by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in April 2012 and the inaugural UK-Japan Strategic Dialogue took place in November 2012 in London. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke by telephone to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida soon after the Japanese elections. The tempo of engagement in 2013 will remain high. I visited Japan from 14 to 16 January 2013 for early discussions with the new Government in Tokyo.
	2012 saw major investments by Japanese companies in the UK, including Toyota's November announcement of a £100 million investment in their Burnaston plant and Nissan's announcement in December of a £250 million investment in their plant in Sunderland. We remain strong advocates of the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement with negotiations set to be launched later this year.
	Our defence relationship has also strengthened, since the signature of a Defence Cooperation Agreement endorsed by our respective Prime Ministers in April, and signed by our respective Defence Ministers in June 2012. This relationship was discussed further at the political/military talks in Tokyo that I opened earlier this month.
	2012 was also a year of rich and varied cultural exchange between the UK and Japan. In April, to mark Shakespeare's birthday, the British Library's first folio was displayed at our embassy and generated a good deal of media interest. Gagaku was performed at the Edinburgh Festival by musicians of the Imperial Household in Tokyo. In November 2012, Anthony Gormley was awarded the renowned Obayashi Prize and created the new sculpture in Hayama.

Mali

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the deployment of French unmanned aerial vehicles in Mali.

Mark Simmonds: We support the French intervention in Mali. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific operational details of the French intervention in support of the Government of Mali, including the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Private Education

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department were in receipt of continuity of education allowance in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; and what the cost to his Department was of providing this allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

Alistair Burt: Members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. Those who are parents are legally obliged to ensure that their children receive a full-time education. Where staff cannot or choose not to take their children overseas, we contribute towards the costs of boarding school education in the UK for children up to the age of 18, provided that officers meet specific eligibility criteria. This enables the children to have stability and continuity of education, which is particularly important for secondary school age children. We provide financial support to all diplomatic staff, irrespective of grade, who serve overseas, to help enable them to meet this requirement.
	The cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of continuity of education allowance (CEA) for children of FCO staff attending school in the UK was as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total cost (£) Paid for staff in UK Paid for staff overseas Number of staff claimants 
			 2009-10 13,329,851 7,487,435 5,843,415 339 
			 2010-11 13,067,398 7,219,993 5,847,405 340 
			 2011-12 15,448,371 To be advised To be advised 456 
		
	
	The figures for 2011-12 are not comparable with earlier years. Costs vary year on year according to the numbers and ages of children at school, and the location of staff claimants. Additionally the FCO has changed the way it records its management information so that other partners in Government are now included in the overall figures. We are unable currently to provide a breakdown of expenditure on CEA in 2011-12 between staff in the UK and overseas. I will write separately to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter on record in the Library of the House

UK Membership of EU

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific exercises his Department has undertaken in assessing the risk to UK business and inward investment of the Government announcing its intention to renegotiate the UK's membership of the EU.

David Lidington: holding answer 17 January 2013
	The Government continues to engage actively with our European partners and play a leading role in a wide range of EU business, as membership of the EU is in the UK national interest.
	The UK benefits from membership of the EU, including from the unrestricted access for UK businesses to a single market of around 500 million customers, which was worth £11 trillion in 2011; and from securing greater market access for the UK at a global level where, for example, it plays a leading role in EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations with third party nations.

HEALTH

Abortion

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which medical evidence he used to support a 12-week limit on abortions.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), expressed his personal views on abortion time-limits. It is accepted parliamentary practice that proposals for changes in the law on abortion come from backbench Members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes.

Action on Smoking and Health

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department gave to Action on Smoking and Health in 2011-12; and how such spending he anticipates making in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Anna Soubry: Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has received funding of £150,000 in 2011-12 and £150,000 in 2012-13 through the Department's “Section 64 General Scheme of Grants to Voluntary and Community Organisations”. The grants were awarded for work to support delivery of the Tobacco Control Plan for England.
	The Department has received a Section 64 grant application from ASH for 2013-14, which it is currently considering.

Dementia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the levels of dementia research funding beyond the announced figure of £66 million; and how the figure of £66 million for dementia research funding was determined.

Daniel Poulter: In March 2012, the Prime Minister's challenge on dementia announced that the combined value of the Department's National Institute for Health Research, the Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council funding for research into dementia will increase from £26.6 million in 2009-10 to an estimated £66.3 million in 2014-15. This figure was determined on the basis of profiled spend from contractual commitments and the likely additional requirement to support the actions outlined in the Prime Minister's challenge, assuming receipt of appropriate, high quality bids in response to funding opportunities.

Dementia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will investigate the reasons for the disparity in dementia diagnosis rates across England and publish recommendations to attain a measure of uniformity in (a) diagnosis procedures and (b) availability of those tests across England;
	(2)  if he will consider advocating dementia testing for susceptible age groups as part of routine health check ups.

Norman Lamb: Improving diagnosis rates for dementia is a priority for the Government and we want to see both an increase in the overall rate and a reduction in the current regional variation.
	Dementia has been prioritised by both the Department through the NHS Mandate and by the NHS Commissioning Board through their planning guidance and we expect clinical commissioning groups to make measurable progress in ensuring timely diagnosis.
	From April 2013, local authorities will be mandated to offer NHS Health Checks to everyone eligible every five years, and to raise awareness of dementia and the existence of memory services for those aged 65-74.

Dementia: Wales

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he plans to hold with the Welsh Government to extend the dementia friends initiative to Wales.

Norman Lamb: England's National Clinical Director for Dementia will be meeting representatives from all the devolved Administrations to ensure that they are able to be kept fully up to date of all aspects of the Prime Minister's challenge on dementia, and also to share good practice between different countries in the United Kingdom.

Diabetes: Woking

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support the prevention of Type 2 diabetes in Woking constituency.

Anna Soubry: Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to lifestyle factors such as being overweight and physical inactivity. The Government is committed to tackling excess weight and obesity, and has published “Healthy Lives, Health People: A call to action on obesity in England” which sets out our commitment to key programmes, such as Change4Life, and the NHS Health Check. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
	The Government has recently launched the Change4Life Be Food Smart campaign to give people information about the foods they eat, and help them make healthier choices.
	The Government is also continuing to fund and support the full rollout of the NHS Health Check programme, which includes assessing the risk of diabetes for people aged 40-74 and supporting them in managing or reducing that risk. From April this year the NHS Healthcheck programme will be mandated to local authorities to secure local delivery of the risk assessment element of the programme. Economic modelling has shown the potential for the programme to prevent over 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes and to detect over 20,000 cases of diabetes and kidney disease earlier.
	The Health Checks programme in Surrey has specifically targeted people at a greater risk of diabetes and has done projects with black and minority ethnic groups in the Woking area led by Dr Munira Mohammed from Sheerwater Health Centre. Across the north west of Surrey, including Woking, carers have also been offered health checks following the carer's health needs assessment that identified poor health outcomes for them.
	Outreach health checks in shopping centres have also been available to the general population.

Eating Disorders: Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with diabetes were admitted to hospital with complications arising from disordered eating in each year since 2005.

Anna Soubry: It is not possible to identify admissions to hospital with complications arising from ‘disordered eating’. It is possible to identify admissions with a diagnosis of both diabetes and an eating disorder.
	The table lists the count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a diagnosis (primary or secondary) of diabetes and with a diagnosis (primary or secondary) of an eating disorder, for the period 2005-06 to 2011-12. This data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	
		
			  FAEs 
			 2005-06 155 
			 2006-07 180 
			 2007-08 195 
			 2008-09 226 
			 2009-10 285 
			 2010-11 299 
			 2011-12 354 
		
	
	FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.

Eating Disorders: Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether guidelines are currently issued to GPs for diabetic patients who have shown symptoms of disordered eating.

Anna Soubry: Diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children, young people and adults published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) advises health professionals to be aware that children and young people with diabetes type 1 have an increased risk of eating disorders. NICE in its guidance on the management of eating disorders, advises that children with sub-optimal management of their diabetes should be screened for eating disorders and that those type 1 diabetics who present with an eating disorder should receive “intensive regular physical monitoring”.

Food Standards Agency

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget was for the Food Standards Agency in 2011-12; and what the budget is for (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency UK total budgets for the three years are as follows:
	
		
			 Budget £ million 
			 2011-12 145 
			 2012-13 141 
			 2013-14 135

Food Standards Agency

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staffing posts have been deleted at the Food Standards Agency since May 2010.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency UK budgeted posts for full and part-time permanently employed staff as at May 2010 was 1,627 and the budgeted posts as at December 2012 is 1,415, a reduction of 212.
	This reduction includes the transfer of 109 posts to other Government Departments, with the balance being achieved through restructuring and efficiency gains.

General Social Care Council

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost to the public purse was of closing down the General Social Care Council.

Daniel Poulter: The final set of accounts from the General Social Care Council show that the total cost to the public purse of closing down the council was £3.5 million, of which £0.7 million arose in 2011-12 and £2.8 million in 2012-13. In addition, there is a cost of £13.5 million in 2012-13, which was the settlement of the pension liability for the staff of the General Social Care Council.
	On the assumption that the costs of the General Social Care Council would remain broadly similar, the Department estimates that the closure of the General Social Care Council will bring savings to the public purse of £13.5 million each year.

General Social Care Council

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social workers were registered with the General Social Care Council at the beginning of the last financial year; and how many social workers are currently registered with the Health Care Professionals Council.

Norman Lamb: Figures available in the General Social Care Council's Annual Report and Accounts for the financial year 2010-11 and financial year 2011-12 show that:
	at the beginning of the financial year 2011-12 the number of social workers in England registered with the General Social Care Council was 86,319; and
	at the beginning of the financial year 2012-13 the number of social workers in England registered with the General Social Care Council was 87,246.
	As of 18 January 2013, there were 81,559 social workers in England registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

General Social Care Council

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) full and (b) part-time staff in the social work sector of higher charges for professional registration as part of the shift from the General Social Care Council to Health Care Professionals Council; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: Anyone in full-time or part-time practice as a social worker in England, or using the protected title of ‘social worker’, must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. The fee that the Health and Care Professions Council charges is to cover the cost of regulation and this is the same whether the social worker is working full-time or part-time.
	The Government transferred regulation to the Health and Care Professions Council on 1 August 2012. The General Social Care Council had been heavily subsidised by the taxpayer as the £30 fee paid to the council did not cover the full costs of regulation.
	The registration fee charged by the Health and Care Professions Council is £152 for two years (£76 for each year). This is the lowest fee levied on any of the regulated health and care professions.
	The Health and Care Professions Council has worked very closely with employers throughout the transitional process to ensure that those currently employed as social workers have been able to register with the Health and Care Professions Council with ease, and has taken the following steps to make the increase in fees more manageable for social workers:
	allowing social workers a four months period of grace from 1 August 2012 until the final date for fees payment;
	allowing payment to be spread over two years by four instalments; and
	keeping the fee at the current rate throughout this financial year.

Health Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on national specialised commissions teams on a per capita basis in (a) the North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA), (b) Yorkshire and Humber SHA and (c) Greater London.

Anna Soubry: The funding of specialised commissioning groups is a matter for primary care trusts and so the information requested is not held by the Department. My hon. Friend may wish to consider writing to the relevant strategic health authorities for this information.

Heart Diseases: Children

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from clinicians in Yorkshire and the Humber on the decision to close the children's heart surgery unit at Leeds Children's Hospital.

Anna Soubry: We understand that a letter setting out the concerns of clinicians in Yorkshire and the Humber has been sent to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) who we have asked to conduct a review of the Safe and Sustainable programme as a result of three referrals from overview and scrutiny committees.
	Given that this is a national health service review independent of government, the involvement of the IRP, and the legal proceedings that are under way, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.

Lead: Health Hazards

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on the effects on human health of exposure to lead in the UK; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the reports of any such studies.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has not commissioned research on the effects on human health of exposure to lead in the United Kingdom.
	The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is undertaking a three-year surveillance of blood lead levels in children in collaboration with the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit; this study is funded through grant in aid. Further information about the study is available on the HPA website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/chemicals/slic

Mental Health Services: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been allocated for mental health provision in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey in each of the last three years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the format requested. Funding for national health service services is currently allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs). PCTs commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of national and local priorities. From 2013-14, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for the allocation of resources to clinical commissioning groups.
	The following table shows the reported spend for adult mental health services in Surrey by PCT. Data is not available by constituency. Woking falls within Surrey PCT.
	
		
			 Surrey PCT 
			  £000 
			 2009-10 64,686.19 
			 2010-11 66,562.09 
			 2011-12 88,227.25 
			 Notes: 1. The report, which is conducted independently by Mental Health Strategies, is commissioned annually by the Department and published on the Department's website. 2. The survey is non-mandatory and includes some estimated data. 3. Data cover services provided for working age adults (age 18-65). Source: 2011-12 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services, Mental Health Strategies (2012)

NHS Commissioning Board

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date he scrutinised and approved the salaries of the new appointments of the (a) Chief Executive, (b) Non-Executive Chairman and (c) national directors on the Executive Board of the NHS Commissioning Board.

Anna Soubry: The then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), considered and approved the salary proposals for the posts of:
	(a) the chief executive of the NHS Commissioning Board on 17 November 2011;
	(b) the non-executive chairman of the NHS Commissioning Board on 5 September 2011; and
	(c)the national directors on the executive board of the NHS Commissioning Board on 17 November 2011.

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct Walsall Healthcare NHS to send a reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 1 November 2012 to the chief executive of the Black Country Cluster, who stated that the matter of infant mortality in Walsall was a matter for Walsall Healthcare NHS who would be replying directly; and if he will make arrangements for replies from Walsall Healthcare NHS to be sent more promptly in the future.

Daniel Poulter: This is a matter for the national health service locally.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has made to the European Commission on the legality and proportionality of minimum unit pricing for alcohol; and what plans she has to make further representations to the Commission on this matter.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 21 January 2013
	On 28 November 2012, the Government launched a consultation on key policies within the Alcohol Strategy, including seeking views on a proposed minimum unit price of 45p. The Government is discussing this issue with the EU Commission in parallel to the consultation. The Government will maintain its dialogue with the EU Commission as it moves forwards with the consultation.
	The Government has also worked closely with the Scottish Government to respond to the questions and issues raised by the European Commission and a number of member states who gave opinions on their legislation. A response has now been sent to the Commission.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had on the future of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the implementation of that body's Review of Off-Payroll Appointments and Future Governance published in July 2012.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Asylum

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the length of time asylum seekers are in receipt of support under section 95 of the Asylum Act 1999.

Mark Harper: holding answer 19 December 2012
	Asylum seekers who are recognised as refugees usually receive section 95 support for short periods of time because they are able to access the full UK benefits system after they receive the positive decision. Failed asylum seekers continue to be supported if they have children. This means that they stay on support for longer periods if their departure from the United Kingdom has to be enforced.

Asylum: Appeals

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the legal costs incurred by her Department defending section 4 support appeals in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: holding answer 7 January 2013
	Section 4 support appeals are managed by the UK Border Agency (the Agency). Information about the Agency's overall litigation expenditure is contained in its annual Resource Accounts. However, the Agency does not record litigation expenditure in the format which would enable it to answer this question and to do so would incur disproportionate costs.

Asylum: North East

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what penalties have been imposed on G4S following their failure to meet their original target date for moving asylum seekers to new accommodation in the Yorkshire and Humber and North East regions.

Mark Harper: The volume of people involved—and the requirement to ensure their continued welfare—meant that the original transition timetable agreed between all parties was no longer feasible. The UK Border Agency worked in partnership with local authorities to reach an agreement over an appropriate extension to allow G4S to complete transition. This transition was completed within the agreed short term extension and no penalties were imposed upon G4S.

Cannabis: Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cannabis warnings have been issued to juveniles in North Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not available from the police recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office. While the series includes data on the number of offences detected by means of a cannabis warning, no information is held on the age of the offender.

Correspondence

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average length of time taken by her Department to respond to correspondence from hon. Members.

Mark Harper: The Home Office replied to 8,436 pieces of ministerial correspondence in the period from 1 December 2011 to 30 November 2012 at an average of 14 days taken per reply.

Deportation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 778W, on immigration controls, 
	(1)  how many foreign nationals subject to deportation orders have been awaiting deportation for (a) one month or less, (b) between one and three months, (c) between three and six months, (d) between six and nine months, (e) between one and two years, (f) between two and three years, (g) between three and four years, (h) between four and five years, (i) between five and six years, (j) between six and seven years, (k) between seven and eight years, (l) between eight and nine years, (m) between nine and 10 years and (n) more than 10 years;
	(2)  how many foreign nationals subject to deportation orders are prevented from being deported due to their (a) identity or (b) nationality being unknown.

Mark Harper: The following table shows the number of foreign nationals subject to deportation orders who are awaiting deportation for the periods requested as at 24 September 2012. The total figure quoted of 3,133 relates to foreign nationals who have passed their Early Removal Scheme date or Earliest Release date.
	
		
			 Time category Total 
			 1 month or less 96 
		
	
	
		
			 1-3 months 174 
			 3-6 months 225 
			 6-9 months 187 
			 9-12 months 155 
			 1-2 years 540 
			 2-3 years 398 
			 3-4 years 399 
			 4-5 years 350 
			 5-6 years 249 
			 6-7 years 176 
			 7-8 years 97 
			 8-9 years 45 
			 9-10 years 17 
			 10+ years 25 
			 Total 3,133 
		
	
	Despite the best efforts of the UK Border Agency, deportation of foreign national offenders can be delayed in many ways. Deportation can be delayed through the use of judicial challenges or by the individual's failure to comply with the re-documentation process. This can lengthen the period of time an individual spends in immigration detention.
	As at 24 September 2012 there are 64 foreign nationals subject to deportation orders who are prevented from being deported due to their identity or nationality being unknown.

Entry Clearances

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many family visitor visa applications there were in each of the last five years; how many were refused in each year; and of those refused how many were allowed on appeal in each year.

Mark Harper: The data on the number of applications and refusals are available from the UK Border Agency management information and are provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Visit—family visit 
			  Applications Refusals 
			 2008 414,708 114,913 
			 2009 426,785 112,419 
			 2010 423,047 89,341 
			 2011 444,373 85,151 
			 2012(1) 315,458 66,534 
			 (1) 2012 figures are for applications received up to September 2012. 
		
	
	This data is based on internal UK Border Agency management Information. It is provisional and subject to change.
	The data on allowed appeals as provided in the following table are available from published statistics.
	
		
			 First-tier tribunal (immigration and asylum chamber): Family visit visa statistics 
			 Time period Allowed 
			 2008 23,200 
			 2009 26,300 
			 2010 25,600 
			 2011 16,800 
			 January-September 2012 7,900 
		
	
	Figures in the tables have been rounded independently. The following convention has been used: Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Entry Clearances

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure that rugby league players are given fair consideration when applying for visas and work permits.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency has a category specifically for sports people under paragraph 245HB of the immigration rules. Sports people apply for leave to enter under tier-2 of the points based system. In order to obtain entry clearance as a tier 2 (sportsperson) the applicant would have to meet the requirements of paragraph 245HB of the immigration rules. There is no differentiation between rugby league players and other sports people. All applications are treated in accordance with the immigration rules and decisions are made based on the individual merits of the application not their sports background.

Foreign Workers

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will introduce a national register scheme for foreign workers.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency is implementing a requirement for nationals from outside the European economic area granted permission to remain in the UK for more than six months to enrol for a biometric residence permit. The permit contains biographical details about the migrant, together with their immigration status and entitlements, including to work and duration of permitted stay, while they are in the UK.

Human Trafficking: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's plans are to fulfil its obligations to appoint guardians to child victims of trafficking under Article 14(2) and Article 16(3) of the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims.

Mark Harper: The Government believes the UK is already compliant with this measure in the directive. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. In addition to a social worker and independent reviewing officer, a looked after child also has access to an independent advocate. Under these arrangements, looked after children are provided with access to all their needs be they in relation to education, accommodation, psychological or health needs.

Immigrants: Detainees

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many detainees (a) were and (b) were not released from detention following submission of a report to UK Border Agency under Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many reports have legal and healthcare teams submitted to UK Border Agency under Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 in each year for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: Reports made under Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 may be made only by the medical practitioners at immigration removal centres.
	Management information for the administration of reports submitted under Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 is available for the period 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2012. This information does not form part of published statistics and is not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. It is provisional and subject to change.
	Records prior to this period were locally held manual records for administrative purposes and are not available.
	
		
			 2012 Total 
			 Rule 35 Reports 983 
			 Detention Maintained 909 
			 Detainee Released 74

Immigration

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the Government to achieve its target of reducing net annual immigration to below 100,000 people.

Mark Harper: The Government's policy is to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament. Net migration fell by a quarter from 242,000 for year ending March 2011 to 183,000 for year ending March 2012, which shows we are bringing immigration back under control.
	Our tough new policies are taking effect and this marks a significant step towards bringing net migration down to sustainable levels and restoring public confidence in the system.

Immigration

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many Ethiopian immigrants her Department estimates will arrive in the UK in each of the next five years;
	(2)  how many Iraqi immigrants her Department estimates will arrive in the UK in each of the next five years;
	(3)  how many Nigerian immigrants her Department estimates will arrive in the UK in each of the next five years.

Mark Harper: The Home Office does not routinely produce forecasts or estimates of future levels of migration from individual countries. It would be difficult to produce reliable forecasts to estimate the likely levels of immigration from Ethiopia, Iraq and Nigeria, as migration levels are complicated by a broad variety of factors.
	However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of future population available as population projections. Although these projections are not broken down by nationality, they provide an indication of the future size and age structure of the population based on recent demographic trends. These projections are available from the ONS website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl= Population+Projections

Immigration

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a final decision will be made by the UK Border Agency on the application for leave to remain made by a constituent of the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, Mr Rasheed Naeem-Walker.

Mark Harper: I will write to my hon. Friend separately on this individual case.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 3 December 2012 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Peter Solaja.

Mark Harper: I have written to the right hon. Member separately on this individual case.

Offences Against Children: Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 783W, on offences against children: Wales, what the anticipated cost is of Operation Pallial; what the contribution is of the Serious Organised Crime Agency and other police forces; and what the estimated cost is to North Wales police.

Damian Green: holding answer 22 January 2013
	I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 783W, which sets out the current position. Costs will be kept under review as the operation progresses.

Passports

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy that the Yeovil Passport Application Interview Office should be open for more than two days per week;
	(2)  what action the Identity and Passport Service has taken to ensure that potential users of the interview office in Yeovil are made aware that the office is only open two days per week and that telephone enquiries made to the office are only accepted on the days that the office is open;
	(3)  how many passport application interviews were carried out at the Yeovil passport interview office between 1 August and 31 December 2012; and what the current waiting list backlog is;
	(4)  what the approximate waiting time between an application for an appointment and an appointment being granted is at the passport interview office in Yeovil.

Mark Harper: holding answer 22 January 2013
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has no plans to increase the number of days that the Yeovil Passport Application Interview Office opens. The decision to open the Yeovil office for two days is based on operational requirements and the needs to balance the need of our customers with the cost to the passport fee payer.
	All IPS customer messages advise customers to visit GOV.UK for specific office opening times and information or to contact our national Adviceline. GOV.UK allows customers to search by their postcode and offers the nearest office locations, listing opening times for each office. For Yeovil, the opening times are Wednesday and Thursday 8.45 am to 5.30 pm.
	Telephone inquiries are not received by or transferred to any customer service office or flexible site, including Yeovil. Customer inquiries are taken by our national Adviceline, who will answer the majority of queries, only transferring complex cases, which they are unable to answer, to a local IPS customer inquiry centre in the application processing centre where the passport application is being processed.
	422 interviews were carried out at the Yeovil passport interview office between the week ending 5 August and the week ending 30 December 2012. 78 customers have appointments booked in the Yeovil office over the next four weeks.
	The current waiting time for an appointment is 20 days and as at 18 January the next available appointment is 7 February. IPS always advises customers not to book travel unless they have a valid passport.

Police ICT Company

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) cost of establishing the proposed police IT company and (b) number of staff employed was as at 15 January 2013.

Damian Green: It is not possible to provide the cost of establishing the Police ICT Company as the work is still underway.
	The interim form of the company is not yet operational therefore no staff are employed by the company.

Police ICT Company

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members and chair are of the police IT board; and what its proposed capital and resource budget is in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Damian Green: The current directors of the Police IT Board are:
	Helen Kilpatrick—Home Office
	Stephen Webb—Home Office
	Nick Gargan—Home Office (on secondment to HMIC)
	Simon Parr—Chair of Operational Requirements Board
	Ailsa Beaton—Chair of ACPO Information Management Business Area
	David Riddle—Chair of Ministry of Defence Police Committee
	Simon Duckworth—Chair of Association of Police and Crime Commissioners
	Malcolm Cornberg—Serious Organised Crime Agency
	Stephen Greenhalgh—Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and Crime
	Millie Banerjee (Chair of British Transport Police Authority).
	We are currently developing the company business plan to determine capital and resource requirements for the new business for approval by the company board.

Police: Professional Organisations

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the formation of a new police professional body.

Damian Green: Since I last updated the House on progress in October, the College of Policing has become operational. Staff and budgets transferred into the college from its predecessor organisation on 1 December and the college has begun to provide services to police forces.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Cleaning Services

Lisa Nandy: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  what the minimum wage paid by the (a) Commission and (b) its outside cleaning contractor is to cleaning staff who work on the Parliamentary Estate;
	(2)  what the value is of the contract awarded by the Commission for the cleaning of hon. Members' offices on the Parliamentary Estate in areas other than the Palace of Westminster;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the level of reduction in cleaning staff numbers as a result of the business improvement plan.

John Thurso: Cleaning staff employed by the House earn at least £8.70 per hour (£15,387 full-time equivalent per annum calculated on the basis of net hours worked). The wages paid to the staff of the cleaning contractor are, of course, a matter for their employer. However, I understand that the basic pay rate for these cleaners is currently £8.30 per hour and that the contractor plans to increase this to £8.55 from 1 April 2013 in line with the London living wage.
	The current cleaning contract covers all areas of the Parliamentary Estate except for hon. Members' offices and a small number of other areas.
	The business improvement plan for cleaning (which was endorsed by the Commission in December 2012) is now concentrating on in-house cleaning resources in the heritage areas of the Palace of Westminster, where our staff can develop expertise in cleaning areas that are part of the World Heritage Site. Some areas, including some Members' offices, which were previously cleaned by the in-house team are being handed over to the contractor as part of this process. The transfer process began on 31 December and will be completed by 1 April.
	We expect that this exercise will provide clearer oversight and accountability. It should initially be cost neutral, but result in reduced costs when the contract is re-tendered this summer.
	Following the Department of Facilities Business Improvement Plan implementation, the number of cleaners directly employed by the House will reduce from 45 to 30 (22.9 to 15.9 full-time equivalents, as these staff work part time). This will be achieved by releasing staff when they come to the end of their fixed term contracts.
	The Director of Accommodation and Logistics Services would be happy to discuss these matters further with the hon. Member.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the House authorities have taken to encourage early tabling of written parliamentary questions to assist the Table Office with its daily workload.

John Thurso: The Procedure Committee proposed a cut-off time for e-tabling in its Third Report of 2008-09, on the grounds that
	“action must be taken to smooth the workload of the Table Office and ensure that each and every question receives the most thorough consideration”.
	This proposal was agreed by the House, and there is a cut-off of 6.30 pm (or the rising of the House if earlier) on Mondays to Wednesdays. This has helped smooth the workflow in the Table Office.
	I have invited the Principal Clerk of the Table Office to consider what other steps could be taken to encourage the tabling of questions earlier in the day. He would be happy to discuss this issue further with the hon. Gentleman.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by the House of Commons Commission (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by the House of Commons Commission (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

John Thurso: Of the 21 questions tabled to the House of Commons Commission between 9 May 2012 and 18 January 2013 for written answer on a named day, all received a substantive answer, of which six were provided after the named day.
	Of the 42 questions tabled to the House of Commons Commission between 9 May 2012 and 18 January 2013 for ordinary written answer, 39 were answered within 30 days; three questions tabled on 18 January will be answered shortly.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Supply Estimates

Helen Goodman: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, for what reasons the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has requested a supplementary estimate for 2012-13; and what decision the Speaker's Committee for IPSA has reached in relation to that request.

Charles Walker: IPSA has not requested any additional funding. It has requested a supplementary estimate for the following reasons:
	(a) to enable IPSA to retain rental income from the subletting of half of its office space and to include this rental income of £56,000 in the Estimate for subhead B (IPSA operations);
	(b) to establish a new subhead D to hold £365,000 costs arising from additional work on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and from the Information Commissioner's Office decision notice that IPSA should release receipts for MPs' expenses; and
	(c) to transfer £365,000 from subhead A, where forecasts indicate it will not be required to support MPs' pay, staffing and expenses, to fund the additional and previously unforeseen costs in the new subhead D.
	The Committee has approved the draft supplementary estimate without modification, in line with the advice provided to it under statute by HM Treasury. The draft supplementary estimate will be laid before the House in February.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Children

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment her Department has made of the incidence of child labour in developing countries.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development has not carried out independent assessments of the global incidence of child labour. We do however work with organisations, such as the International Labour Organisation who produce a quadrennial global report on child labour.

Developing Countries: Children

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department works with UK multinational companies to reduce the incidence of child labour in developing countries.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development provides support to voluntary mechanisms such as the UK's Ethical Trading Initiative and Fairtrade International to help UK businesses, some of which are multinational companies, to reduce the incidence of child labour in developing countries. Businesses that sign up to these initiatives are committed to take action if they learn that child labour is used in their supply chains.

Developing Countries: Children

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking together with international partners to reduce the incidence of child labour in developing countries.

Alan Duncan: Child labour is unacceptable and the coalition Government is committed to tackling it. The UK provides significant support to UNICEF, which is mandated to promote the protection and rights of the child, to meet children's basic needs and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. The UK Government is also working with other governments, international organisations and civil society organisations to remove children from labour. For example, by working with Anti-Slavery International, the UK Government is helping to remove 24,000 children from begging and put them into school.

Human Trafficking

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects targeting human trafficking her Department is supporting; in which countries; and what funding commitment her Department has made to each such project.

Alan Duncan: DFID is currently supporting a regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia, focusing on India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The funding commitment is £3 million for 2012-15. DFID also currently supports Anti-Slavery International's global anti-trafficking project that has a funding commitment of £1,435,049 for 2008-13.

Private Education

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in her Department were in receipt of continuity of education allowance in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; and what the cost to her Department was of providing this allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

Alan Duncan: DFID reimburses employees on overseas postings for private schooling overseas or boarding school fees in the UK for their children, within financial ceilings.
	The terms and conditions of employment in DFID are set in order to recruit, motivate and retain staff who are skilled and equipped to meet DFID's objectives. Those with children have a legal obligation as parents to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the age of five, and they pay UK tax wherever they work. Most
	parents prefer to take their children with them, but in some countries they are not permitted to do so, either for health or security reasons. Continuity of education is also an important factor, particularly at secondary level.
	The information provided is based on centrally held information relating to education continuity payments to Home Civil Service (HCS) staff and does not include school fees paid locally.
	The amount spent on education allowance by DFID and the number of HCS staff who have benefited from education continuity payments is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Total number of employees 48 47 42 
			     
			 Employees in UK (£) 127,909 96,374 141,609 
			 Employees overseas (£) 1,190,901 964,932 889,141 
			 Cost (£) 1,318,810 1,061,306 1,030,750

Procurement

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria her Department will use to assess the performance of its suppliers against its Statement of Priorities and Expectations for Suppliers; and how frequently such assessments are to be made.

Alan Duncan: The clear expectation is that suppliers will not only sign up to the DFID Statement of Priorities and Expectations, but will also set out—in writing—exactly how they will make sure they deliver on their commitments. Failure to do so could be taken into account by DFID through the tendering process.
	We receive feedback from our country offices all over the world on supplier behaviour and performance. We will monitor supplier commitment to the code and discuss this regularly with them.

Procurement

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to section 1(d) in her Department's Statement of Priorities and Expectations for Suppliers, what definition of fair but not excessive rewards her Department uses.

Alan Duncan: Any such assessment takes into account risk and reward but given the context of DFID's work, expectations are for substantially lower margins than standard industries.
	This is part of the ongoing process of working with suppliers individually and collectively to get value for money, as under the previous Government, no strategic value for money review of suppliers had taken place.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by her Department (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by her Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Alan Duncan: From the beginning of this parliamentary Session (9 May 2012 to 22 January 2013), DFID has answered 181 of its 188 (96.3%) named day parliamentary questions (PQs) on time and the remaining 7 (3.7%) within two sitting days. DFID has provided a substantive answer to all named day PQs during this parliamentary Session. DFID has also answered 99% of all ordinary written PQs within five sitting days; with none answered after 30 days.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

JUSTICE

Constituencies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of using the Census population figures at the time of their update as the basis for the boundary review.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The electoral register has been the basis for parliamentary boundary reviews since the creation of the independent Boundary Commissions. The Government does not believe that using population figures derived from census data would provide a better basis for a boundary review than using the annually updated electoral register.
	The national census data provide a benchmark for the population estimates. However, as the ONS recognises, it is difficult to measure objectively the quality of the estimates due to the range of information used in the construction of them. Importantly, the national census only takes place every 10 years. Also, the population figures will include persons who are not eligible to register to vote, for example on grounds of citizenship or age.

Legal Aid Scheme

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2012, Official Report, column 428W, on the legal aid scheme, how many people have received legal aid for asylum and immigration issues in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: It is not possible to state how many individuals received legal aid as an individual can receive more than one act of assistance and one act of assistance can assist more than one individual(1). The number of acts of assistance for immigration and asylum matters funded by legal aid in each of the past five years is as follows:
	(1 )An act of assistance is the provision of legal advice and help or the grant of a certificate in more serious and complicated cases.
	
		
			  Number of acts of assistance in immigration and asylum 
			 2007-08 86,646 
			 2008-09 97,268 
			 2009-10 101,634 
			 2010-11 85,917 
			 2011-12 86,646

Pre-trial Procedures

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were remanded (a) in custody and (b) on bail in each month in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The estimated number of defendants who were remanded in custody and the number of defendants remanded on bail at all courts in England and Wales, by month in 2010 and 2011 (latest currently available), is shown in the table.
	The table presents data by month based on the final date on which the defendants appeared in court and proceedings were concluded. The date on which the court made remand decisions on those defendants is not held centrally, with remand decisions potentially made at an earlier stage during proceedings in previous months.
	Data for 2012 are planned for publication in May 2013.
	
		
			 Defendants remanded in custody and defendants remanded on bail at all courts(1) in England and Wales, by month(2), 2010 and 2011(3), England and Wales 
			 Defendants 
			  Month 
			 Remand status Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 
			 2011              
			 Remanded in custody(4) 5,374 5,564 6,077 4,791 5,487 5,803 5,715 5,567 6,072 5,649 5,943 5,448 67,490 
			 Remanded on bail 44,916 42,400 47,747 37,822 42,667 44,449 43,670 43,209 43,679 41,820 42,007 34,913 509,299 
			               
			 2010              
			 Remanded in custody(4) 5,861 5,801 6,449 5,341 5,308 6,039 6,446 5,573 5,845 5,691 6,096 4,955 69,405 
		
	
	
		
			 Remanded on bail 43,583 44,321 50,204 45,195 43,188 48,282 49,792 45,783 48,522 47,062 48,055 38,135 552,122 
			 (1 )Includes those defendants remanded in custody or remanded on bail during proceedings at magistrates courts and those defendants remanded in custody or remanded on bail at the commencement of trial or sentence at the Crown court in England and Wales. The magistrates courts component of the data presented in this table excludes those defendants who failed to appear and those who were committed for trial or sentence at the Crown court. The remand status used for the Crown court component of the data is that recorded at the point of committal from the magistrates court to the Crown court for trial or sentence. (2 )The table presents data by month based on the final date on which the defendants appeared in court and proceedings were concluded. The date on which the court made remand decisions on those defendants is not held centrally, with remand decisions potentially made at an earlier stage during proceedings in previous months. (3 )The magistrates courts component of the data presented in this table are estimated. (4 )Including those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at magistrates courts or the Crown court who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Self-harm

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners in each prison in the UK committed self-harm in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(2)  how many people in prison considered to be at risk of self-harm received extra support from the Prison Service in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(3)  how many prisoners in HMP Lincoln considered to be at risk of self-harm received extra support from that prison in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(4)  what support mechanisms are in place in prisons for prisoners considered to be at risk of self-harm.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is only responsible for prisons in England and Wales. Statistics for other areas of the UK should be obtained from the respective Administration. The number of individuals reported as self-harming in England and Wales for 2010 and 2011 are given in the following table.
	Statistics on the total number of individuals who self-harmed in English and Welsh establishments during 2010 and 2011 calendar years were provided in the Safety in Custody bulletin published in July 2012. This showed there were 6,623 individuals self-harming in 2010 and 6,854 individuals self-harming in 2011. The sum of individuals in the table will add up to more than these numbers as some individuals may be counted in more than one establishment if they have been transferred and committed an act considered to be self-harm in both establishments. Statistics on reported self-harm incidents for 2012 are scheduled to be published on 25 April 2013.
	
		
			 Number of individuals reported as self-harming in England and Wales by establishment, 2010-11 
			 Number of individuals 
			 Establishment 2010 2011 
			 Acklington 58 72 
			 Altcourse 144 174 
			 Ashfield 36 51 
			 Ashwell 10 (1)— 
			 Askham Grange (1)— (1)— 
			 Aylesbury 35 51 
			 Bedford 84 86 
			 Belmarsh 52 51 
			 Birmingham 123 122 
			 Blundeston (1)— 15 
			 Brinsford 29 75 
			 Bristol 67 62 
			 Brixton 56 83 
			 Bronzefield 193 184 
			 Buckley Hall 26 18 
			 Bullingdon 83 54 
			 Bullwood Hall 10 24 
			 Bure (1)— 9 
			 Canterbury 7 (1)— 
			 Cardiff 20 24 
			 Castington 53 23 
			 Channings Wood 25 43 
			 Chelmsford 83 109 
			 Coldingley 18 26 
			 Cookham Wood 20 20 
			 Dartmoor 17 41 
			 Deerbolt 50 67 
			 Doncaster 161 159 
			 Dorchester 34 31 
			 Dovegate 121 87 
			 Dover 22 25 
			 Downview 49 54 
			 Drake Hall 43 41 
			 Durham 106 136 
			 Eastwood Park 186 165 
			 Edmunds Hill 12 (1)— 
			 Erlestoke 18 24 
			 Everthorpe 27 34 
			 Exeter 37 64 
			 Featherstone 24 33 
			 Feltham 133 100 
			 Ford (1)— (1)— 
			 Forest Bank 144 141 
			 Foston Hall 109 124 
			 Frankland 91 75 
			 Full Sutton 28 31 
			 Garth 32 42 
			 Gartree 25 35 
			 Glen Parva 101 105 
			 Gloucester 43 44 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 16 10 
			 Guys Marsh 25 24 
			 Haslar (1)— (1)— 
		
	
	
		
			 Haverigg 39 29 
			 He well 89 77 
			 High Down 105 151 
			 Highpoint 43 50 
			 Hindley 34 60 
			 Hollesley Bay (1)— (1)— 
			 Holloway 123 148 
			 Holme House 73 75 
			 Hull 70 72 
			 Huntercombe 16 8 
			 IOW: Albany 37 26 
			 IOW: Camp Hill 23 18 
			 IOW: Parkhurst 56 42 
			 Isis (1)— 24 
			 Kennet (1)— (1)— 
			 Kingston (1)— (1)— 
			 Lancaster Farms 16 23 
			 Leeds 68 79 
			 Leicester 61 77 
			 Lewes 71 75 
			 Leyhill (1)— (1)— 
			 Lincoln 78 95 
			 Lindholme 20 16 
			 Littlehey 56 87 
			 Liverpool 74 59 
			 Long Lartin 45 37 
			 Low Newton 90 111 
			 Lowdham Grange 41 67 
			 Maidstone 18 22 
			 Manchester 81 92 
			 Moorland 55 56 
			 Morton Hall 31 22 
			 Mount 17 19 
			 New Hall 177 162 
			 Northallerton 12 13 
			 Norwich 123 139 
			 Nottingham 67 99 
			 Onley 41 46 
			 Parc 139 143 
			 Pentonville 115 134 
			 Peterborough 177 79 
			 Peterborough Female 87 159 
			 Portland 39 52 
			 Preston 112 123 
			 Ranby 33 57 
			 Reading 15 3 
			 Risley 28 25 
			 Rochester 59 63 
			 Rye Hill 64 61 
			 Send 67 69 
			 Sheppey: Elmley 57 71 
			 Sheppey: Standford Hill (1)— (1)— 
			 Sheppey: Swaleside 24 38 
			 Shepton Mallet (1)— (1)— 
			 Shrewsbury 33 30 
			 Stafford 37 41 
			 Stocken 49 57 
			 Stoke Heath 114 52 
			 Styal 109 123 
			 Swansea 32 26 
			 Swinfen Hall 66 74 
			 Thorn Cross 6 9 
			 Verne (1)— 8 
		
	
	
		
			 Wakefield 33 41 
			 Wandsworth 77 63 
			 Warren Hill 21 24 
			 Wayland 57 37 
			 Wealstun 30 47 
			 Wellingborough 49 50 
			 Werrington 11 16 
			 Wetherby 76 78 
			 Whatton 35 50 
			 Whitemoor 31 35 
			 Winchester 91 84 
			 Wolds 14 19 
			 Woodhill 49 80 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 76 68 
			 Wymott 46 20 
			 (1) Five or fewer Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn directly from the National Offender Management Service's administration systems. Caution should be exercised in using these figures as they have not been quality assured to Official Statistics standards and are subject to change. The detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level. 2. The numbers of different individuals is based on unique surname and date of birth. 3. For questions (2), (3) and (4) I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 222W. For (2) and (3) information on additional support provided to prisoners at risk of self-harm is not held centrally. The ACCT care planning process will identify any specific support needs of individual prisoners. For (4) The National Offender Management Service has in place a prisoner-focused care planning system for those identified as at risk of self-harm or suicide. The system, Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), has helped prisons to manage prisoners' risk of self-harm and suicide since 2007. The vast majority of self-harm is not directly life threatening but nevertheless can be extremely distressing both for those affected by it and those who have to deal with it. There are no easy solutions to self-harm but we remain committed to managing and finding ways to reduce it.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Helen Grant: The proportion of procurement contracts offered by the Ministry of Justice that have been advertised on Contracts Finder since the website's inception is 79%. Remaining procurement contracts offered were not open opportunities, therefore not eligible for publication.

Shrewsbury Prison

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people from Stoke-on-Trent are imprisoned at HMP Shrewsbury;
	(2)  what his policy is on future prison provision for offenders from North Staffordshire.

Jeremy Wright: On 31 December 2012 there were eight prisoners at HMP Shrewsbury recorded as coming from Stoke-on-Trent. Information on offenders' residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address, and these figures are included in the answer.
	If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the answer. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders; these figures are excluded from the answer. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible error with data entry and processing.
	There are approximately 690 prisoners from Staffordshire in custody in England and Wales, with over half of this total held in the West Midlands. The role of prisons in the West Midlands, similarly to the rest of the custodial estate, is open to review to ensure they provide appropriate levels of security; suitable accommodation for an offender's gender, age and legal status; special facilities appropriate to prisoner needs and are near to their homes or the courts dealing with their cases.
	Additionally, I announced on 10 January 2013 that a review of the female custodial estate would take place. The review will look at the current provision of places across the female estate and consider options to deliver places more effectively at reduced cost while meeting the gender specific needs of the population.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Civil Disorder

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the involvement of proscribed loyalist terrorist organisations in the recent violence in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  what her assessment is of the involvement of proscribed loyalist terrorist organisations in the recent violence in Northern Ireland.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers) and I continue to keep the Prime Minister and Cabinet colleagues, including the Home Secretary, briefed on developments in Northern Ireland.
	The Chief Constable has said that although individual members of loyalist paramilitary organisations have been involved in recent public disorder, the recent violence has not been sanctioned by their leadership.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of procurement contracts offered by her Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Michael Penning: All procurement contracts offered by my Department are advertised on the eSourcing NI website which is the dedicated website for public sector procurement in Northern Ireland.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

House of Lords

John Mann: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what assessment he has made of the adequacy of scrutiny of the House of Lords under the current strategy of the National Audit Office.

Edward Leigh: The NAO's strategy is to provide assurance to both Houses of Parliament that public funds are properly spent. The Comptroller and Auditor General audits the Resource Accounts of the House of Lords which is equivalent to his audit of any Government Department. The resource accounts include both the costs of running the House of Lords administration and the expenses and allowances payable to Members of the House of Lords. The Comptroller and Auditor General reports the results of his audit to both Houses of Parliament. I therefore consider that the Comptroller and Auditor General's audit of the House of Lords provides adequate financial scrutiny over the House of Lords.

TRANSPORT

Commuters

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the average daily distance travelled to and from work by commuters in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: Estimates of the average length of a commuting trip are available from the National Travel Survey. Figures for the last five years for which data are available (2007-2011) are as follows:
	
		
			  Average commuting trip length (miles) 
			 2007 8.9 
			 2008 8.6 
			 2009 8.6 
			 2010 9.0 
			 2011 8.9 
			 Source: Department for Transport statistical table NTS0405, downloadable from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts04-purpose- of-trips 
		
	
	A daily average total distance travelled to and from work can be estimated at twice the distances shown in the table, assuming one home-to-work trip and one work-to-home trip per day.

Railways: Scotland

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects new rolling stock for the Anglo-Scottish sleeper service to be procured.

Simon Burns: Responsibility for Anglo-Scottish sleeper services lies with the Scottish Government. Questions relating to those services, including the procurement of new rolling stock, should be addressed to that organisation.

Rescue Services: Rural Areas

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on protecting coastguard stations in rural communities.

Stephen Hammond: The Government announced its policy on the modernisation of Her Majesty's Coastguard on 22 November 2011. The blueprint document which supports this announcement is available on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's website.
	The co-ordination arrangements will allow the workload to be better managed across the new national-network. The modernisation plans include specific steps to increase the support to our voluntary coastguard rescue officers and Her Majesty's Coastguard will have a greater presence in coastal communities. No frontline services will be affected.

Shipping: Employment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the Oxford Economics report for Maritime UK on the economic impact of the UK Maritime Services Sector published in December 2012, if he will estimate the proportion of the estimated 48,200 UK-based jobs in the shipping industry in 2011 that were filled by seafarers.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold the information to provide this detail.

Shipping: Equal Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of non-UK seafarer ratings and officers employed on UK-registered vessels are protected from pay discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold this information.

Shipping: Foreign Workers

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of non-UK seafarer ratings and officers employed on UK-registered vessels in 2011 were non-EEA nationals.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold this information.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the legality of the procurement process for the Thameslink rolling stock.

Simon Burns: The Department has continually taken account of its legal obligations throughout the Thameslink rolling stock procurement process to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the proportion of the total number of jobs on ships which qualified for the tonnage tax scheme in 2012 that were held by (a) UK seafarers, (b) EEA seafarers and (c) non-EEA seafarers.

Stephen Hammond: The Department only holds figures for seafarers employed in the deck and engine departments on vessels in the tonnage tax. The proportions by nationality of seafarers in such jobs, as currently reported to us by companies and groups for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 tonnage tax training commitment years, are as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  UK seafarers Other EEA seafarers Non-EEA seafarers 
			 2011-12 23.4 20.2 56.4 
			 2012-13 23.7 19.9 56.4

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by his Department (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by his Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Norman Baker: Up to 22 January, Department for Transport Ministers have answered 470 Named Day PQs so far this session. Of these, 425 were answered on time, which accounts for 90.4%. 45 (9.6%) were answered after the named day. Six Named Day PQs have yet to receive a substantive answer, none of which is past its named day.
	Up to 22 January, Department for Transport Ministers have answered 1,714 ordinary written Parliamentary Questions. All of these received an answer before 30 sitting days after tabling. There are currently 22 questions that have not yet received an answer, all of which were tabled in the past week.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to Written Parliamentary Question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2010/12 Parliamentary session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

TREASURY

11 Downing Street: Official Hospitality

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) official and (b) charity receptions he held at 11 Downing Street in 2011-12; and what the (i) date and (ii) cost to the public purse was of each.

Sajid Javid: There have been 13 receptions held for charities in the last 12 months hosted by the Chancellor and other Ministers, and eight receptions relating to Government business.
	There has been no cost to the public purse for any charitable receptions held at No. 11. Information relating to costs of receptions held for Government business is not readily available.

Bank Services: ICT

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the potential cost of the Government creating an IT system to facilitate retail bank account portability.

Sajid Javid: Following recommendations by the Independent Commission on Banking, the Government has secured an industry commitment to deliver a seven-day account switching service by September 2013.
	The Government has been clear that further measures, including ‘full account portability’, will be considered if this service does not deliver the expected consumer benefits.

Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the report of the Ministerial Working Group on the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland;

David Gauke: The report of the Joint Ministerial Working Group has made real progress in understanding the practicalities and potential impacts of devolution to Northern Ireland. A decision on the report will be made in due course.

Emigration

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2013, Official Report, column 983W, on emigration, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of emigration; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: It is very difficult to make robust estimates of the effect on the UK economy of emigration, especially when trying to assess the costs and benefits of different types of migrants. Any assessment should take into account immigration and hence consider the effect of net migration to the UK.
	There are many factors to consider when assessing the impact of emigration on the economy, such as the age, economic activity and skills of the migrants and how these interact with the resident and immigrant population. A recent Home Office report examined emigration from the UK and found that the majority of British people emigrating are of working age, there appears to be an inverse association between British emigration and unemployment in the UK, and that a large and increasing proportion of British citizens emigrating from the UK are those from professional or managerial occupations.
	This study is available here:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/horr68/horr68-report?view=Binary

Gift Aid

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 760W, on gift aid, 
	(1)  if he will undertake research to establish how many people know how to donate under gift aid;
	(2)  if he will undertake a campaign to explain to the public how to donate under gift aid;
	(3)  if he will undertake research on why some donors do not donate under gift aid.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury regularly engages with charities and their representative bodies to discuss how to improve the gift aid system.
	In the autumn statement the Chancellor announced that
	“the Government will examine whether the administration of Gift Aid can be improved to reflect new ways of giving money to charity, in particular digital giving”.
	Following this we are exploring with charities what scope there is to ease the administrative burden on claiming gift aid through these channels, so making gift aid more attractive to donors.
	We have no current plans to undertake a formal campaign or research into the take-up of gift aid.

Mortgages: Arrears

Bob Blackman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will discuss with the banking sector measures to give flexibility to people with cancer who go into mortgage arrears because of being unable to work during treatment.

Sajid Javid: The Government is determined that repossession is a last resort for lenders to take, whatever the reason for that individual entering arrears. This is set out in the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol.
	The Government is also committed to supporting people who are diagnosed with cancer: homeowners who have a mortgage, and who receive income-based employment and support allowance (ESA)—a benefit that is intended for those who are ill or disabled, including those with cancer—may be entitled to support for mortgage interest (SMI).
	SMI is intended to provide financial help towards mortgage costs of claimants, in order to help them to avoid mortgage arrears and subsequent repossession. It covers eligible interest on loans, up to prescribed capital limits, taken out to purchase a home and on certain home improvement loans.
	Claimants who receive SMI as part of their ESA award do not have a time-limit applied to their SMI claim.
	Autumn statement 2012 announced that temporary measures to increase the generosity of SMI to working-age claimants have been extended until 2015.

Pensions

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the rules which he announced in the 2012 autumn statement on changes to drawdown rates for pensions will be implemented.

Sajid Javid: The change announced at autumn statement is subject to legislation being passed by Parliament as part of Finance Bill 2013. The Government published draft Finance Bill legislation on 17 January. It would allow individuals to choose to receive drawdown pension income up to 120% of an equivalent annuity for all drawdown pension years starting on or after 26 March 2013.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury comply with the Government's Transparency agenda and routinely publish opportunities, tenders and contracts with a value £10,000 (excluding VAT) and above on Contracts Finder:
	www.contractsfinder.co.uk
	Departmental performance (on a month by month basis) for the period up to end November 2012 can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/transparency-progress-reports
	HM Treasury's performance including December 2012 will be reported by the Cabinet Office in February 2013.

Public Expenditure

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to commence the next comprehensive spending review.

Danny Alexander: Departmental budgets have been set to financial year 2014-15. As announced in the autumn statement 2012, the Government will set out detailed spending plans for 2015-16 in the first half of this year.

Railways: Freight

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1113W, on railways: Radlett, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had any discussions on (i) the Helioslough Radlett rail freight exchange proposal and (ii) other rail freight issues since May 2012; and whether he has received any representations on these issues since May 2012.

Danny Alexander: Treasury Ministers and officials receive regular correspondence and representations from external organisations whom they engage with as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Retail Prices Index

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the indexation basis of new issues of index-linked gilt-edged securities following the review by the Office of National Statistics of the retail price index.

Sajid Javid: As set out in my written ministerial statement of 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 21WS, the Government will continue to issue new index-linked gilts linked to the retail prices index.
	Separately, the Government announced at autumn statement 2011 that it would not issue gilts linked to the consumer prices index (CPI) in 2012-13 but would keep the case to issue CPI-linked gilts in the medium-term under review.
	The Government will as usual set out the Debt Management Office's financing remit for the next financial year at Budget.

WALES

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office obtains its support services through the Ministry of Justice, and has not procured any contracts on its own.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment and Support Allowance

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total level of underpayment of employment and support allowance as a result of departmental error was in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) South Lanarkshire; and how many people in each such area were affected.

Mark Hoban: The information is not available in the format requested.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average amount is by which the income of cancer patients in the (a) support group and (b) work-related activity group of employment and support allowance will be reduced as a result of the decision to uprate components of employment and support allowance by one per cent instead of CPI in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

Steve Webb: It is not possible to provide an average amount of income for cancer patients as the data cannot be broken down according to illness.

Housing Benefit

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of the housing benefit cap on people who will no longer be excluded due to the change in retirement age.

Steve Webb: The equalisation of women's state pension age with men's, the legislated rise in state pension age to 66, and the announced rise to age 67 were factored into the updated Benefit Cap Impact Assessment which was published on 16 July 2012 and the updated Equality Impact Assessment which was published on 23 July 2012.
	The Impact Assessment can be accessed at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf
	and the Equality Impact Assessment at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-benefit-cap-wr2011.pdf
	These changes in state pension age will not lead to the benefit cap affecting anyone who has reached state pension age on its introduction in April 2013.

Housing Benefits: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the amount of housing benefit payments paid in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland has been in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: Housing benefit expenditure by parliamentary constituency is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Housing benefit expenditure by local authority, region and country is on the table entitled “Tables showing benefit expenditure by country, region and local authority from 2000/01 to 2011/12" which can be accessed via the following URL:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php ?page=expenditure
	Such information by parliamentary constituency that is available is on a new visualisation tool Stat-Xplore published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool

Jobcentre Plus: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus offices in London have dedicated lone parent advisers.

Mark Hoban: All 67 Jobcentre Plus offices in London have dedicated lone parent advisers.

Pensions

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what feedback he has received from stakeholders following the launch of automatic enrolment onto workplace pensions.

Steve Webb: The response to automatic enrolment has been consistently positive. Stakeholders have broadly welcomed the launch of automatic enrolment, maintaining the consensus supporting the workplace pension reform programme.
	We are in regular contact with a wide range of representatives about the implementation of these reforms. This includes pension providers, payroll companies, intermediaries, and consumer groups, and we welcome their feedback on their experiences.

Poverty: Children

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential effect of (a) universal credit and (b) the Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill on child poverty in Scotland.

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore) on 15 January 2013, Official Report, columns 715-17W. The requested figures are not available at lower geographies.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for benefit fraud in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) South Lanarkshire in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The number of investigations closed by Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) for the fiscal years 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 within Great Britain and the proportion closed in Scotland. The information is not available for the South Lanarkshire area.
	
		
			  Great Britain Scotland 
			 2008-09 128,513 13,716 
			 2009-10 150,146 15,712 
			 2010-11 154,819 15,291 
			 2011-12 165,387 15,769 
		
	
	The information in the format above is not available for the fiscal year 2007-08.
	The number of people convicted for benefit fraud from DWP's investigations in each year requested is shown as follows identifying the number for Great Britain and the proportion convicted for Scotland. The information is not readily available for the South Lanarkshire area.
	
		
			  Great Britain Scotland 
			 2007-08 7,745 117 
			 2008-09 6,700 119 
			 2009-10 7,040 434 
			 2010-11 8,598 514 
			 2011-12 9,861 692

Staff

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to pay compensation under his Department's work force management redeployment package for (a) mobile and (b) non-mobile grades who decide to travel outside of their mobility conditions of service travelling time to Peel Park.

Mark Hoban: Workforce management redeployment packages are only used in instances where an employee is being asked to work outside of their mobility and as a redundancy avoidance measure.
	Staff moving to Peel Park who are in a mobile grade can be compulsorily transferred anywhere in the UK. They may be entitled to receive excess fares. A limited redeployment package of up to a maximum of £10,000 would only be paid if their transfer requires a home move, subject to their individual circumstances. This is not a workforce management redeployment package (WMRP).
	Staff in a non-mobile grade who may be at risk of redundancy and who are willing to accept a permanent post outside of their normal reasonable daily travel may receive the WMRP, subject to their individual circumstances.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 725W, on work capability assessment, how many of those with Parkinson's disease who were found fit for work at their first repeat assessment appealed against this finding; and how many such people had their appeal upheld.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not readily available. We estimate that the work required to produce this information would come at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Work Capability Assessment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to record the number of appeals of the outcomes of work capability assessments which are based on claims (a) that the Atos report does not accurately reflect discussions or physical examinations which took place at the assessment and (b) of disagreement between Atos assessment reports and supporting medical letters from a claimant's GP or consultant.

Mark Hoban: DWP maintains records of the number of appeals which are received based on the work capability assessment. Obtaining data to the level of detail suggested would involve disproportionate cost. We therefore have no plans to collect the proposed data.

Work Capability Assessment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Atos health care professionals are trained in disability assessment to a standard commensurate with their required role of providing advice on the functional effects of a person's condition or disability to a DWP Decision Maker in respect of benefit entitlement.

Mark Hoban: All Atos' health care professionals (HCPs) are trained in disability assessment, providing advice on the functional effects of a person's condition or disability to a DWP decision maker, who will make a decision on benefit entitlement.
	Following training, all HCP assessments are audited until they achieve four consecutive A grade reports. This ensures reports are of the required standard.
	All HCPs are then referred to the Department's Chief Medical Adviser for approval on behalf of the Secretary of State. Following approval, audit is ongoing, at a reduced frequency to ensure HCP reports remain at the required standard.

Work Capability Assessment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments were carried out in 2012 by Atos; and in how many such assessments the claimant was successful.

Mark Hoban: The Department regularly publishes statistics on work capability assessment (WCA) outcomes for new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims, and for people undergoing the incapacity benefits reassessment (IBR) process.
	The latest ESA statistics were released in January 2013 and can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php? page=esa_wca
	The latest IBR statistics were released in November 2012 and can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php? page=esa_ibr

Work Programme: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Copeland constituency participated in the Work programme scheme in 2012; and how many such people went on to find permanent employment as a result.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many people in Copeland constituency participated in the Work programme in 2012 can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	Statistics on how many such people went on to find permanent employment are not available.